The Leaves Are Greener
by Zana Zira
Summary: Set during the Shippuden Era. When relations with the Land of Lightning begin to deteriorate and war looms on the horizon, one young kunoichi and her friends must rise to the challenge and protect their homes from danger. This was my very first fanfiction, written on paper in 2008. Warning: definitely contains Mary Sues. I've posted this mainly for laughs. :)
1. Reunion

**A/N: This story was written a very long time ago (2008) and contains Mary Sues/Marty Stus as the main 5 characters. If you want to have a laugh or two at how bad my writing used to be, then please continue on. If Mary Sues infuriate you, then you may want to turn back. ;)**

* * *

The summer air in Konohagakure was unpleasantly hot. The humidity was high enough to give the air the consistency of water, yet not enough to bring any cool rain. Most of the residents of the Hidden Leaf Village had retreated into their homes for the day to escape the heat; others sprawled out among the trees, enjoying the shade beneath the forest's leafy cover. One group, however, seemed not to notice the blistering heat of the day. As usual, Might Guy and his four students were busy training out in the fields, too focused to even consider the risks associated with the heat.

Guy stood on the sidelines as two of his students, Rock Lee and Sango Hitarashi, sparred with one another. Sango had joined Team Guy three years ago, soon after Lee's defeat during the Chunin Exams. She and Lee had been childhood friends, and they had begun dating just after Lee had recovered from his risky surgery, so it was only natural for her to want to stay by his side. They were considerably alike, both in appearance and personality, and even wore the same clothes to train in day after day. Sango was not a typical sixteen-year-old girl, either. She possessed no natural-born talent, like Neji or Sasuke, and what little chakra she did possess was so pitifully weak that she had learned not to rely on it. As a result, she had taken to studying taijustu and the art of the sword, training like mad since she was a child to master them both.

"Haiyah! Haiyah!" Sango yelled. She bent backward, touching her head and hands to the ground and dodging a punch from Lee. Pushing herself up into a handstand, she extended her long, muscular legs into the air and aimed a powerful kick at him.

"Aaah!" he cried as her foot connected with his jaw and sent him flying across the training field.

"Nice, Sango!" Tenten called from the sidelines.

"Yes, good form," Neji added. Sango smiled at the praise. Hearing a rustle in the grass, she spun around to see Lee running at her at breakneck speed. As they both leapt into the air, she tucked her arms into her chest to block his punch, but he followed it up with a full-force kick, sinking his heel into her stomach.

"Ugh!" she gasped as she was thrown backwards, slamming into the ground on her back. As she stood to jump back into the fight, Guy stepped in front of her, Lee already next to him.

"That's good, guys!" he shouted, giving them the thumbs-up and flashing his unbelievably white teeth. "You've been at this long enough. You've improved a ton in these last few months. All of you really do deserve your Chunin titles!"

"Speaking of which," Neji said, joining them, "shouldn't we be getting ready for that party we're supposed to be throwing tonight? Most of Konoha's teams are coming, as well as Naruto, Jeraiya, and Lady Tsunade."

"Yeah, you're right," Guy said. "To be honest, I almost forgot about it."

"This will be great!" Lee said. "A party to celebrate all of Team Guy finally achieving Chunin!"

"Neji's a Jônin already," Tenten added quietly.

"Yes, he's just a little too good for little ol' me to teach," Guy teased.

"Oh, what_ever_, Sensei," Tenten retorted, smiling and rolling her eyes.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Sango asked impatiently, giving Lee a kiss on the cheek. He blushed and grabbed her hand as she began trying to pull him away.

"Right," Guy continued. "Lee, you're in charge of groceries. Tenten, you're in charge of decorating. Sango and Neji, you're in charge of cooking, and I'll be going with Lee." Sango pretended to make a pouting face and released Lee's hand. "And…dismissed!"

* * *

Neji and Sango walked with Tenten to the Nakama Inn, where Guy had rented out two adjoining rooms for the party. As they headed down the long hall to the kitchen, Tenten ducked through a side door into the main hall to begin decorating. Sliding open the paper doors, Sango and Neji entered the kitchen and began to explore it. The cabinets were filled to bursting with exotic spices and teas, as well as gigantic frying pans and glistening porcelain teapots. Opening the pantry revealed barrels of strange and colorful fruits and vegetables, not all of which they were sure were edible. Baskets of apples, lemons, and potatoes were hung by chains from the ceiling, swaying a little as the door was closed again.

"Hmm..." Neji muttered, peering into the gigantic freezer. "Sango, come look in here."

"Wow!" she exclaimed in awe, striding up behind him. Inside was every type of meat she could imagine, from beef to pork to fish and whole chickens; there were even ducks and cuts from a sheep. "So, Neji, what do you think we should make?"

"That depends. What can you cook?"

"Anything you want, as long as there's a recipe for it. So, maybe... some soba, tempura, and curry-" Neji flinched. "Oh, no, don't worry," Sango said, laughing at him. "I won't put any ghost chilies in it this time."

"Well, alright..." he said hesitantly. "But I should still taste it as you go to make sure it's alright. I can't really trust you unsupervised with the spices." Sango sighed.

"Fine..."

The two of them quickly got down to business. Working as a team, they easily prepared more than enough food for everyone in attendance. There was still a little time until the party began, so they finished neatly arranging everything on the serving dishes and prepared to call it quits.

"Phew," Sango said, placing the last plate in a neat arrangement on the serving table. "Now all that's left is the cleanup."

"Don't worry about it," said Tenten, suddenly walking in. "Go clean yourselves up and get ready. I have to get cups and bottles of saké for the tables, anyway, so I'll get it."

"Thanks, Tenten! You're awesome! But are you sure?"

"Positive. Besides, you and Neji both have flour all over your faces."

* * *

Sango quickly ran back to her apartment, which was in the same building as the rest of her squad's apartments. "Wow," she laughed as she looked at herself in the mirror above her bathroom sink. "Tenten was right. I really did make a mess!" Her jet-black hair was gray and full of flour and powdered sugar - now that she thought about it, she couldn't even remember using powdered sugar - and her clothes were covered in blood from the meat she had spent half the afternoon slicing up, not to mention the sweat from training earlier. "Wow. Ick." She quickly stepped into the shower and washed off the sweat and kitchen grime all over her, then wrung out her hair and wrapped herself in a towel, picking up her filthy taijutsu suit and dropping it into the laundry basket as she went.

"Hmm…" she mumbled to herself as she approached the closet "What should I wear?" She spotted a green yukata with a blue obi and snatched it off of the hanger. "Perfect." She crossed the sides of the lightweight kimono over her chest and tied the obi, having some trouble managing the long ribbon of blue fabric, then posed in front of the mirror, admiring the silver leaf symbols stitched here and there on the sleeves and the blooming silver cherry tree on the bottom hem. The sleeves themselves hung to just above her hips when she extended her arms to the sides.

"Okay, now the hair." She walked over to the mirror on her desk and ran a comb through her hair, tucking it up into a loose, messy bun. Selecting a pair of green chopsticks from her jewelry box, she slid them through the bun. Then she picked up a hair clip with a green jade lotus on it - a present from Lee - smiling as she snapped it into her hair. Last, she grabbed a metal leaf symbol pin, a pair of tabi socks, and her favorite green geta shoes. Pinning the silver leaf onto the front of her obi, she slipped on the socks and stepped into her shoes, lifting the hem of her yukata so as not to trip on it, which she had unfortunately done many times before.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Yes?" Sango asked, opening it. Lee stood waiting outside, wearing a clean taijutsu suit and his Chunin vest. Men in Konoha were much less inclined to dress up for parties than the women. Other than at weddings, most of them simply preferred to wear a clean uniform instead of a kimono.

"You look beautiful," Lee said, smiling at Sango and touching the jade lotus in her hair.

"Thank you," she replied, blushing. "You look handsome, as always." Lee smiled, a little embarrassed.

"It's five-thirty. Are you ready to go?"

"Sure," Sango said, taking his hand. "Let's go."

Sango and Lee arrived at the Nakama Inn by six o'clock, still holding hands. Walking into the main hall, they noticed that most of the tables were already filled with people. Sitting down at a small table with the rest of Team Guy, Sango heard the sound of beautiful music being played on a wooden flute. It sounded very familiar.

"No way. It couldn't be her." Slowly, she turned her head toward the stage at the back of the room. A young kunoichi sat on the edge of the stage, playing a haunting song on her flute as her legs swung back and forth beneath her. She had chocolate-brown hair and deep brown eyes; a white kimono-style shirt hung just past the top of her knee-length navy blue pants, which were tied at the ends with white bandages running from her knees to the tops of her blue sandals. That confirmed it.

"Disura!" Sango called out. The girl seemed startled and abruptly stopped playing.

"Sango?" she asked quietly, searching the room for the one who had called her name. Her eyes brightened as she saw her friend on the other side of the room. "Sango! It is you!" she cried, sliding down onto the floor and running over to Guy's table. "You haven't changed much since I last saw you."

"Well, duh! It's only been four months!" Sango replied. Seeing Disura's same old blue pants, she laughed. "You haven't changed, either, Disura. I see you're still as much of a tomboy as you always were."

"Kimono, skirts, dresses, it makes no difference," Disura said, smiling. "They all just feel too weird. Like I'll trip over them as soon as I take a step."

"So what? I trip on them all the time, and I'm totally fine."

"That's debatable," Disura teased with a toothy grin at her best friend. Lee chuckled softly but said nothing; Sango gently poked his ribs with her elbow.

"True, true. Anyway, where's the rest of Squad Seven?" Sango asked.

"Sensei dragged them along for some grocery shopping, so knowing him, they'll be at least another three hours."

"How'd you manage to escape that?"

"I disappeared while he was still trying to convince them to go. By the way, nice flower," she said, gingerly touching the jade lotus. "Where'd you get it?"

"Well…" Sango said shyly. She leaned against Lee's shoulder, then kissed his cheek and giggled. He smiled and put his arm around her, then resumed his conversation with Neji.

"Ah, I see," Disura said, smiling.

"You're as hopeless as ever, Sango," said a familiar teasing voice. Looking up, Sango saw a girl her age, with sun-colored, red-streaked hair and bright green eyes. Her nails were long like claws and painted electric blue, the same color as her striking kimono. A golden dragon snaked up and around her kimono from the hem, baring its teeth, and the obi was gold with silver flames.

"Hi, Tatsumi! I was afraid you weren't gonna make it today!" Tatsumi Ren, like Disura Enoki, had been one of Sango's best friends since she was three years old. She was always the wildest and most unpredictable of the group, almost animalistic at times. She was also the quickest to anger, usually at times that required intervention from Sango or Disura to keep all three of them out of trouble. Disura was Tatsumi's polar opposite, always cool and quiet, especially in battle. And while Tatsumi relied mainly on close-range Fire-Style jutsu, Disura used flute genjutsu that could take effect from a long distance as she blended into the trees. Like Sango, Disura and Tatsumi had joined their squads - Teams Seven and Eight, respectively - soon after the conclusion of the Chunin Exams three years ago.

"Wow, Sango," Tatsumi said. "You look more muscular than before, if that's even possible."

"Of course it's possible," Sango replied. She lifted the sleeve of her kimono and flexed her arm, making it bulge with muscle from shoulder to wrist.

"Whoa! I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that punch!"

"You're almost as scary as Lady Tsunade now," said a quiet voice behind Sango.

"Who are you and what did you do with Sango? You look too strong to be her!" said another voice.

"Well," said Sango, "Guy Sensei trains us really ha -" She stopped mid-sentence and spun around, gawking at the two people who had just appeared behind her. "Ruku! Jakku! You're back!" Ruku Mizukiri and Jakku Basatto, two boys who belonged to Team Asuma and Team Ebisu, respectively, had befriended the three girls during their Ninja Academy years. Ruku was tall, over six feet at only sixteen years old, and he was thin and agile. He wore a plain Chunin uniform like his teammate Shikamaru, and he had a very feminine face. His black hair was shoulder-length and wavy, and although he always complained about it getting in the way, he refused to cut it any shorter. Unlike most others in Konoha, Ruku specialized in Water-and Ice-Style jutsu.

Jakku, like Ruku, wore only a simple Chunin uniform, and he had short, unruly brown hair and glasses that were somehow constantly askew. He was very intelligent and practical, preferring function over form in any given situation. His was also very serious, making him appear cold and indifferent to those who didn't know him well, but he was actually very kind. Jakku had no favorite type of jutsu; he simply excelled at controlling his chakra in general. He had been training under Ebisu for several years for just this reason, focusing more on finesse and control than mastering a large number of jutsu. The Fifth Hokage had taken notice of this and, unbeknownst to his friends, was going to take him under her wing.

"About time you noticed us!" Ruku said, laughing. "I thought I'd have to smack you in the back of the head just to get your attention!"

"Where'd you guys go, anyway?" Sango asked. "The four of you left with your teams months ago without saying a word! Team Guy was the only group still here!"

"We can talk about that later," Tatsumi said. "Kurenai-sensei is calling me, so I have to go." Tatsumi rejoined her team and the others followed suit as their teachers beckoned them over.

"Hahhh..." Sango sighed. "So much for getting some answers."

* * *

By six-thirty, everyone had arrived, even Kakashi and Tsunade. The five friends had migrated to another table and were catching up on the goings-on of the past four months. The funny thing was that even though they had not gone to the same place or departed at the same time, they all made it back on exactly the same day. Disura said she liked to think that it was because they were such good friends that they could read each other's minds. Sango agreed.

"Okay, so first," Sango began, "where in the world did you guys go for so long?"

"Well," said Tatsumi, "Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei combined our teams and took us to train in the Fuyu Mountains for five months. We learned quite a few new techniques while we were there."

"I went with Kakashi-sensei to do some private training in Bara Pass," Disura said, "and I learned some awesome new jutsu, too."

"I was training with Master Four-Eyes," Jakku said, pushing his glasses up with his middle finger to imitate his teacher. "After two weeks I easily beat him in a sparring match, and he said he had nothing more to teach me. So I trained and helped out in the Land of Waves for the other three and a half months."

"So what'll you do now?" Ruku asked.

"Well," Jakku said, "starting tomorrow Lady Tsunade is taking me on as an apprentice medic."

"Awesome!" Ruku said. "And on another note, I've been thinking… What if, a month or two from now, the five of us have an all-out melee to see how we've improved against each other?"

"That sounds awesome!" Sango said.

"I'm good with that," said Tatsumi.

"Okay, now a question for Sango..." said Disura, smiling mischievously at her friend. "How long _have _you and Lee been together, Sango? Two years?"

"Two and a half," she said, smiling joyfully. "And I love him more and more every day."

"We know, we know," Tatsumi said, rolling her eyes and smiling. "That's what you always say. The way you talk, you might as well be married."

"You're just jealous 'cause you aren't dating anyone yet," Sango said, sticking out her tongue at Tatsumi.

"That's where you'd be wrong."

"Spill it, Tatsumi," said Ruku and Jakku. "Who is it?"

"Well... he's strong, fierce, and even wilder than me, and he usually yells when he talks."

"No way," Sango gasped in disbelief. "You're dating _Naruto_?!"

"_Naruto_?! No way!" Tatsumi said, laughing. "You're _way_ off, Sango! I was talking about Kiba!" Sango's face froze.

"KIBA?! Really?!" she nearly shouted. "How? I didn't think he was the dating type!"

"Neither did I," Tatsumi said thoughtfully. "But about two months ago when we were training in the mountains, he started acting really weird and shy around me. When I asked him what was wrong, he said he really liked me and wanted to go out with me. So I said yes!" she said, smiling brightly.

"Did he tell you what he likes about you?" asked Disura.

"He said he loves my 'rebellious nature,' as he put it," Tatsumi said, blushing. "I think we're a lot alike."

"Talk about twins," Ruku teased. "You may be even more alike than Sango and Lee."

"That's... not possible. At all," said Jakku.

"Well congrats, Tatsumi!" Sango said, giving her a high-five.

"Sango!" Guy called from across the room. He was sitting at a large table with the rest of the squads and their sensei. "You and the others come over here." Sango obeyed, standing and walking over to join him. As the other four joined their teams, she sat down next to Lee and snuggled up to him.

"So, Sensei," Disura asked curiously, "what is this all about?"

"Well," Kakashi said, "we've been talking, and we've decided that since you're all sixteen years old and most of you are Chunin, you should be old enough to have your first saké." Lee looked nervously at Sango.

"It's optional, of course," said Kurenai, picking up one of the white bottles, "but this isn't just for fun. It's vitally important to know how you handle alcohol," she said, glancing at all of the younger shinobi at the table. "Even some adults can't handle it well. Enemy shinobi know this, and they will often invite you to drink with them in hopes that you will reveal some valuable information. Therefore, you must know your limit."

"So," Asuma said, "we'll drink going clockwise around the table, starting with my team. And you'll all know how you handle it very quickly. This stuff usually takes effect within five minutes." Team Asuma quickly tipped back their saké cups. Shikamaru and Ruku seemed to be the only ones who liked it. Ino and Choji scrunched up their noses and set their cups down, washing the saké down with a few bites of their food.

"Okay," Kakashi said, pouring saké for his team. "Now we'll go."

"Aren't you having any, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura.

"No, I don't really feel like saké tonight," he said. "Plus, I have to be the designated driver."

"You don't even have a car!"

"He just doesn't want to take off his mask," Naruto whispered to Disura. The three drained their glasses. Kakashi snickered as even the stoic Disura hastily downed a glass of water to wash away the taste.

"Okay, now us," said Kurenai. "Jakku, join us."

"No, thanks," he said. "I've tried saké before. I don't like it much."

"Suit yourself," said Tatsumi. Everyone drained their glasses, and everyone but Kurenai then regretted the decision. Hinata and Shino remained silent and took a few sips of punch to cover up the bitter taste of the alcohol.

"It's terrible!" Tatsumi and Kiba said in unison.

"It figures that you two would think the same," Kurenai said, smiling.

"And now," Guy said, "It's our turn!" Sango tightened her grip on Lee's hand. Everyone but him grabbed a glass and drained it. Sango and Neji neither loved nor hated it, but Tenten found it disgusting. Out of curiosity, Sango glanced toward the other end of the table; Naruto and Shikamaru's faces were already turning red. "This may not end well," she thought worriedly. "I have a feeling this may have been a really bad idea…"


	2. A Night to Remember

The next hour went extremely well. Sango and Lee had several dances together, as did Kiba and Tatsumi. Everyone held their liquor well, and aside from a few flushed cheeks, no one appeared even remotely drunk. Sango and Neji received many compliments on their cooking, and the punch went over especially well. Guy adored it, although he preferred to mix his with a shot of saké.

"You are a great cook, Sango," Lee said, kissing her cheek lightly. "I love anything and everything you make." Sango giggled happily and leaned against him. Tatsumi rolled her eyes at them. Lee smiled at Sango and reached for his cup of punch, then took a sip and set it back down. "This does not taste the same as I remember," he said, puzzled. Sango's heart skipped a beat, instantly sensing something was wrong.

"Lee…" she said quietly. He seemed not to hear her. His cheeks began to darken in color, and his eyes took on a glazed look. "Oh no!" she cried, her heart racing. "Neji! Tenten! Guy-sensei!" The three of them looked distractedly up from their game of Dai Hin Min. With one look at Sango's expression, they sprang over to her, their cards flying into the air.

"Did he-" Guy asked quickly.

"Yeah," said Sango, reaching for Lee's arms. "I'll try to hold him b-AAAAGH!" Lee kicked her and sent her flying onto one of the tables on the opposite side of the room; glass cups shattered beneath her and plates fell to the floor with a crash. Pulling a large shard of glass from her hand, she sprang back toward the others and helped Neji, who was trying to hold back Lee's fists as the inebriated shinobi punched wildly at him. Suddenly Lee broke free and darted away, pushing through the crowd of people as he did.

"Sango! Catch him!" yelled Guy.

"Yes sir!" she yelled back, darting after Lee. "Ack!" she grunted as she ducked to dodge a saké bottle he threw across the room. Suddenly Lee appeared to lose his balance. He swung his hand outward as if to catch himself, pushing the saké cups off of a nearby table and into a shattered heap on the floor. "Now's my chance!" said Sango. She leapt into the air and tackled Lee, pushing him to the ground and pinning his arms to his back with great difficulty. Neji and Tenten rushed over and quickly pressed four of Lee's pressure points, causing him to black out. Without a sound, he slumped to the ground and lay still. A splatter of blood fell onto his face.

"Sango!" Tenten exclaimed. "You're bleeding! Lee hurt you?"

"It's just a scratch. I'm fine," Sango said as she fished a handkerchief out of her obi and pressed it into the deep cut. She gratefully accepted the gauze Guy offered her and began wrapping it tightly around her bloody right hand.

"Why... Why is the room... Spinning?" Neji slurred as he began to sway back and forth on the spot. His face was bright pink, and he could barely stay standing as he tried to return to the card table. "Urk..." he grunted as he lost his balance and grabbed Tenten's shoulder for support. She tried to hold him up, but he lost consciousness and slumped to the floor, muttering nonsensical words.

"What the hell just happened?!" Ruku asked as he approached Sango. "Why did Neji pass out, too?!"

"I think he accidentally drank some of Guy's punch while they were playing cards," said Kurenai. "Guy really puts a lot of saké in there. I'm not surprised he couldn't handle it."

"Sango, Tenten, could you take Neji and Lee home with you tonight?" Guy asked apologetically. "The rest of us will stay here and clean up this mess, but we need them confined just in case there's any more trouble."

"Yes, sir," they replied. Many of the others began sweeping up the shards of broken glass that littered the floor, and Asuma joined Ruku in reassembling the table that Sango had fallen onto when Lee threw her. Taking one last look at all of the damage, Sango reached down and picked Lee up, easily carrying him across her shoulders. Tenten did the same with Neji, and together they set off for home.

* * *

Tenten and Sango arrived at their apartment complex at midnight. Unclasping a paper-thin chain that was always hidden inside the collar of her taijutsu uniform, Sango unlocked her front door with the key on her necklace. A sterling silver Konoha charm Guy had given her when she became a Chunin dangled right beside it, always there to remind her who her teammates were and what she was fighting to protect. The large wooden door opened with a soft creak. Sango stepped over the threshold, Tenten close behind her, and walked down the hall to her bedroom. She gently laid Lee on her bed and directed Tenten to put Neji on the bed in the guest room, which was always clean and ready for use. Sango searched through her desk for a moment, then stepped out onto the balcony and struck a match. She watched the flame dance for a moment, then calmly stuck her hand into the two green paper lanterns near the door, lighting the candles inside and causing an eerie green light to glow across the walls outside.

"Sango," Tenten whispered from the hall, "is everything okay?"

"Yes," she whispered back, watching the light and shadows flicker and dance across her yukata. "I'm just thinking." She stepped back through the door, locking it securely behind her. Tenten was on the other side of the living room, locking the front door. After turning on a small table lamp near the couch, Sango finally allowed herself to relax. "How's he doing?" she asked Tenten as the two of them sat down.

"Neji?" she asked, stifling a yawn. "He's fine. Sleeping soundly."

"Good to hear it." After a few minutes, Sango stood and found three blankets in the closet, then tossed one to Tenten.

"Where are you going?" she asked, yawning again as Sango walked down the hall towards the bedrooms.

"I'll watch them tonight. Go ahead and get some sleep, Tenten. I owe you for cleaning up our mess in the kitchen."

"Thanks, Sango." Tenten stretched out on the couch and turned off the lamp. Sango stood still for a few seconds while her eyes adjusted to the darkness, then tiptoed into the guest room and covered Neji with one of the blankets. Next she went to her own room and gently covered Lee up, as well.

Lighting a small candle in a jar near her closet, she stepped inside and pulled out a paper screen. Picking up a light green robe she had left on the foot of her bed, she changed behind the screen, hanging her kimono up and folding the obi back into its small storage bag. She pulled the cord around her waist tighter, then reached up and pulled the chopsticks and jade lotus out of her hair; it cascaded down like a black waterfall until it once again hung to her waist. She put her hair ornaments back in her jewelry box and moved a chair over to the side of her bed. Leaning over Lee, she slowly pushed an unruly strand of black hair out of his face, and then kissed his forehead. He smiled and mumbled something in his sleep. Sitting back in her chair, Sango closed her eyes; before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep.


	3. Ambush

"Come on, Ruku," Tatsumi whispered, unlocking Sango's apartment door and sneaking into her room. Disura followed silently behind them. Standing behind Sango, who was still asleep in her chair, Tatsumi turned toward the others, smiling evilly, leaned over her friend and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"No, wait!" Ruku whispered. "I wanna do it this time." He took a deep breath and cupped his hands around his mouth. "SAAAANGOOO!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"EEEYAAAAAAAHHH!" Sango screamed, falling out of her chair and crashing to the floor. "What the - You - I -" she stammered, still half-asleep.

"Good morning!" Tatsumi said with a huge grin. Ruku and Disura burst out laughing.

"You guys!" Sango whined, laughing as her heart rate returned to normal. "That's so mean! You should warn a person."

"What fun would that be?" asked Disura, still trying to gain control of herself. Ruku had fallen down onto the floor as he laughed uncontrollably.

"Anyway," Sango said, standing up and brushing herself off, "that's not why I gave you the key to my apartment, Tatsumi. What time is it, anyway?"

"About ten a.m.," said Disura. Sango glanced toward her bed and gasped. It was completely empty and had already been neatly made.

"Where's Lee?" she asked, starting to panic.

"He and Neji left to train with the others at around six a.m.," said Tatsumi. "I passed them on the way to get breakfast."

"Shoot!" Sango cried. "I'm late! I'd better hurry!" She grabbed a clean taijutsu suit and her vest and darted behind the shoji screen, changing at lightning speed and not even caring that Ruku was still in the room. "Oh, why didn't he wake me when he left?!" Tying her katana to her hip, she slipped on her weights and leg warmers and ran out the front door, slamming it shut behind her and leaving her friends in stunned silence.

* * *

Sprinting through the outskirts of town to the training fields, Sango kept an eye out for the other members of her team. As she ran, she twisted her hair into a tight braid, tying it tightly at the bottom. Suddenly she paused, getting the unsettling feeling that she was being followed. Kicking off at full speed, she sprang toward the forest near the road, aiming to hide herself among the trees. Landing amidst some dry brush, Sango quickly ducked down into the tall grass along the edge of the forest. Silently, she unsheathed her katana and reached into her tool pouch, pulling out five shuriken. Listening hard, she counted the number of her pursuers in the treetops.

"Five of them," she thought. "Not great odds, but I have no choice." She waited in the shadows, and soon her patience was rewarded. Five kunai flew in her direction through the grass; she easily knocked them away with her own shuriken and prepared to counterattack. She held her katana tightly and began running her chakra through it, making it glow a pale blue. "They were careless," she thought smugly. "By attacking before they knew exactly where I was, they gave away their locations first." Sango's eyes opened wide; her lips pulled back in a snarl. Leaping high into the trees, she caught the first man by surprise.

"Crescent Moon Dance!" she whispered, the blade in her hands flickering between blue and white. The man whirled around, kunai in hand, but he was a second too late. Eyes flashing, Sango drew the blade across his chest. For a split second, time seemed to stand still. Then he gasped quietly as blood spurted from the wound, and he fell from the tree and lay motionless on the ground.

Soaring through the trees, Sango twisted and spun in midair in the form of the Konoha Crescent Moon Dance, one of her favorite sword techniques. One by one, she dispatched three of the others, nothing but a green blur they could never see in time. Finally, she appeared behind the last shinobi, this one a kunoichi with dark skin and long white hair. Surprisingly, the young woman sensed Sango's presence before she had a chance to attack. She drew a blade of her own, and the sound of straining metal began to ring out through the trees as the two swords collided.

Sango had to admit, this girl was powerful. Every time Sango attempted to strike her down, she managed to dodge or parry as if it took no effort at all. It was becoming difficult for the Konoha kunoichi to keep her balance on the tree limbs and still defend herself, and each thrust of the mystery woman's sword seemed to leave her with a new cut, seemingly out of nowhere. Sango realized, then, that she must have been using chakra to enhance her blade's cutting power, too. But before she had a chance to find out, the white-haired girl let go of her sword, letting it fall with a clang to the forest floor below. She drew back and aimed a punch at Sango; lightning crackled angrily around her fist. Sango ducked and slid sideways, barely dodging the full force of the attack.

"Unh!" she grunted as the lightning grazed her face and shoulder. She could feel the blood dripping from the wounds, but it only made her that much more determined to win. Leaping into the air again, she concentrated all of the power she could muster into her right foot. With one final lunge, she slammed her heel into the girl's masked face, landing lightly on the ground as her adversary slammed into the dirt. The other girl lay stunned, gasping and reaching in vain for her sword as Sango stood triumphantly over her.

Running the last of her chakra through her blade, she looked into the girl's blood-red eyes; she couldn't have been much older than Sango herself. "I'm sorry," she said mournfully. "But you've left me no choice."

With that, Sango thrust her katana deep into the girl's neck. By the time red stains began to spread across her white mask, she was already dead, and Sango had disappeared deep into the shadows of the forest.


	4. Assignment

Sprinting through the forest with her heart hammering in her chest, Sango hardly noticed her feet touching the ground. After a few minutes, she arrived at the entrance to Konoha, shadowed by the great carvings of the five Hokage. Leaning against a tall tree, she stood panting and trying to piece together exactly what had happened. Her hand tightened around something hard and cold and she looked down, remembering that she had snatched the headband off of the white-haired kunoichi just before leaving the forest. Holding it up to the sunlight, she gasped at what she saw. The headband bore the symbol of Kumogakure, the Village Hidden in the Clouds, located in the heart of the Land of Lightning.

"This can't be..." Sango whispered in shock. "Why would Kumogakure send shinobi to attack Konoha? We have a treaty with them - or at least I thought we did... I've got to tell Lady Hokage about this!"

Sango ran through the crowded streets of Konoha at a nearly inhuman speed, hardly noticing where she was going as she dodged and swerved around numerous people that barely escaped being run over. Turning a corner a little too sharply, she crashed head-on into someone who had been standing there.

"Sorry! Sorry!" she said hurriedly, standing and trying to help the person to their feet.

"Ow," Jakku said as he stood and rubbed his shoulder. "Sango? Where are you going in such a hurry? And why are you covered in blood? What happened?"

"No time for questions!" Sango said, running off again. "Just come with me and I'll explain later!" Jakku shrugged and ran off after her.

In no time at all, Sango arrived in front of Konoha's Council Building, panting hard. Opening the immense doors, she darted inside and began to dash up the stairs to the sixth floor two at a time. Jakku ran as fast as he could, but he knew it was impossible to keep up with Sango when she got this focused on getting somewhere.

"Lady Hokage!" Sango shouted, slamming open the doors to Tsunade's office. The busty blonde looked up from her paperwork in surprise.

"Sango? What's wrong? What happened to you?" She stared with concern at Sango's blood-spattered clothes.

"I... was attacked," Sango said, still out of breath, "by five... shinobi from... Kumogakure. They tracked me into... the forest and... tried to kill me."

"Kumogakure?" Jakku repeated as he finally caught up to Sango. "But I thought we had a treaty with them."

"We do," Tsunade said grimly. "But there has been tension building between Konoha and Kumogakure for a little over a year. It's all a result of the daimyo fighting over trading rights, but of course that hostility spreads to their lands' ninja villages as well. Kumogakure has closed off three of their four trading posts to Konoha, and since then there have been many small skirmishes between our villages along our borders. What worries me more, though, is that they would dare attack our shinobi in our own territory." She paused in thought; when she spoke again, her words were hesitant. "Sango... What did the leader of the five shinobi look like?"

"She was a kunoichi, about my age, with long white hair, dark skin, red eyes, and a white mask. She also used Lightning Fist techniques."

"That's what I was afraid of. I've recently heard a lot about a girl that matches her description. Her name is Kairatorin. She's the Raikage's daughter, and she's as cruel as they come. She was trained from a very tender age to enjoy killing and to do it without batting an eye, like most Kumogakure shinobi. But for the Raikage to allow his own daughter to wage an attack against Konoha..."

"So what does this mean, Lady Tsunade?" Jakku asked anxiously.

"I'm not entirely sure," Tsunade answered tiredly as she massaged her temples. "But what I do know is that if Kairatorin is anything like her father, she wouldn't waste her time attacking a nation her village holds no grudge against." She paused again to brush her bangs out of her face. "My guess is that she came to spy and scope out the strength of our shinobi before reporting her findings back to the Raikage. The best way to do that would be to attack one of our ninja and see how they handled themselves in battle. You, Sango, just so happened to be the target."

"Unluckily for them," Sango added smugly as she bared her teeth in a fearsome smile.

"All five are dead, I assume?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sango replied matter-of-factly. Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief. Putting two fingers to her lips, she whistled a sharp, shrill note. Almost instantly, an Anbu appeared next to her, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Where are the bodies?" he asked from behind his red-and-white mask.

"On the northern edge of the Chunin training ground, just inside the trees." The Anbu nodded to Sango and vanished.

"Guy has trained you well," said Tsunade. "You performed perfectly in this situation. I am surprised that you managed to kill Kairatorin so easily, and especially with such minor injuries. The best part of all this is that even though the Raikage will surely grieve his daughter's death and desire revenge, it will be a long time before he even hears of it. And even then, he will be unable to act at first for fear of exposing the reason she was killed in the first place." Tsunade held up her hand, then, surrounding it in a light green chakra. She held it lightly above Sango's wounds, and all of them were instantly healed.

"Amazing!" Jakku whispered. Tsunade smiled at him.

"This is nothing. You should be able to master it in less than two weeks. Now, Sango," she continued, "go and find Tatsumi Ren and Disura Enoki. I have a mission for the three of you, so be quick!"

* * *

Within half an hour, the three girls stood side-by-side before Tsunade's desk. Tatsumi and Disura were both panting tiredly after trying to keep up with Sango's nearly inhuman speed.

"So, what's the big rush?" Tatsumi asked Sango under her breath. "I was working on my ninjutsu!"

"And Kakashi-sensei wanted me to practice my flute genjutsu..." Disura added. Tsunade stood to address all of them.

"Sango brought you two here because I have an urgent assignment that only young kunoichi can complete. You three are currently the only ones available to deploy. Now, as she may have told you, there is a very real possibility that the Land of Lightning will go to war with the Land of Fire. They have already staged a small attack, which Sango fended off, and I am concerned that they may already have alliances with other nations against Konoha."

"So what can we do, Lady Tsunade?" asked Disura.

"Your mission is to infiltrate Kumogakure undetected and search for information about their military plans. You will be using aliases, and no one is to know you are shinobi."

"We aren't going to look like shinobi?" Sango asked, a bit confused.

"No. In Kumogakure, in the back areas of town, there is an area made up of bars, casinos, and geisha houses - a 'pleasure district,' if you will. I have traveled there undercover a few times before, and I have found that most of the customers at the teahouses are either active or retired Kumogakure shinobi. Men like them are very easy to manipulate; they always let their guard down around pretty women."

"Uh-oh..." Disura whispered to Tatsumi. "Don't tell me we're gonna have to -"

"So," Tsunade continued, "your mission is to go undercover and blend in with every other local geisha. Talk to the men and see what you can find out. You're all Chunin for a reason; I'm sure you can handle it." Disura groaned.

"So, Lady Tsunade, how long will we have to complete this mission?" Tatsumi asked.

"Two weeks. You'll have three days to get there, eight to gather information, and three to travel back. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am!" the three kunoichi replied in unison.

"Good. Make sure you pack everything you'll need to disguise yourselves, and get plenty of sleep tonight. Tomorrow, you set off for Kumogakure!"


	5. Eagles

Sango awoke to a loud knocking on her apartment window. She blearily opened her eyes, trying to make out the shape in the almost nonexistent light outside. "Come on, Sango!" the person called from outside; at once, Sango realized it was Tatsumi. "We've gotta get going!"

"I'll be out in five minutes!" Sango shouted back, instantly awake and alert. Getting quickly out of bed, she stood and stretched. Sighing, she hurriedly straightened the covers and grabbed a hair tie from the bedside table. With a few quick tugs, her hair had been secured in a black ponytail that hung down to her waist. She slipped on her taijutsu suit, nearly falling over as she struggled to stay balanced in her still-groggy state, then slipped her Chunin vest over her shoulders and tethered her katana to her left hip. She checked her tool pouch and wallet one last time to be sure everything was in order, and then tiptoed out the door, locking it behind her.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, all three girls stood just outside the gates of Konoha, fidgeting with their backpacks and rechecking their supplies. Tatsumi's eyes burned with excitement, and she shifted impatiently from foot to foot as she waited for Sango and Disura to rearrange the supplies in their backpacks. Disura, on the other hand, seemed less than thrilled.

"Mmkay," Sango muttered to herself as she shouldered her backpack. "I'm all set."

"Me, too," said Disura.

"Finally!" Tatsumi exclaimed with an over exaggerated sigh. "Let's go, already!" They took off at a sprint, easily disappearing into the cover of the trees that surrounded Konohagakure.

"We should reach Tanzaku Town by nightfall if we keep up a steady pace," Sango said as she studied the map between leaps. "How much money did everyone bring?"

"I brought five thousand ryo," said Tatsumi, holding up a wallet shaped like a fat baby dragon.

"I brought six thousand," said Disura.

"So did I. So we have to manage it carefully if we're going to be able to afford to stay at an inn every night for two weeks."

"Maybe not..." Disura said mysteriously as she retrieved her flute from the leather holster tied to her left arm.

"What are you thinking, Disura?" Tatsumi asked, although she already knew the answer. Sango, though, was clueless.

"Wait and see." She bit her thumb hard, spreading the blood from the wound across the flute's shiny metal surface. Taking a deep breath, she began to play a quick and complicated song, her fingers dancing skillfully across the blood-soaked keys. Soon she stopped playing and held her flute between her palms like a scroll, forming hand signs around it. "Summoning Jutsu!" she shouted. "Winged Hunters!"

In an instant, three gigantic black eagles with golden-colored eyes appeared in the sky, swooping down into the forest and landing effortlessly at Disura's side.

"You called?" asked the largest, an eight-foot-tall female. "Ah, Disura! I haven't seen you since you visited Bara Pass. What can we do for you today?"

"Sango, Tatsumi, these eagles are my friends from Bara Pass. This female's name is Koyuki, and the two males' names are Hasu and Kaji. Koyuki, my friends and I need a ride for an urgent intelligence mission. Can you all manage that?"

"Sure," screeched the enormous bird, bowing low and stretching her wings out wide. "Hop on." Disura leapt into the air and landed effortlessly on the Koyuki's massive back, sitting down between her beating black wings. Tatsumi and Sango did the same, with Sango riding on Hasu and Tatsumi on Kaji. "Ready?" Koyuki asked, digging her claws into the earth and tensing her muscles for flight.

"Ready!" Sango and Tatsumi answered. With one beat of their wings, the enormous black birds were airborne and ascending quickly.

"So how high do they usually fly?" asked Tatsumi."

"Only about a thousand feet most of the time," said Disura. "But my largest summon, Hibara, can fly up tens of thousands of feet with no trouble at all - for her, that is. I'd pass out at that height pretty quickly."

"Whoa!" Sango gasped, hanging tightly to Hasu's neck as his muscles stretched powerfully beneath her. Tatsumi laughed.

"You don't fly much, do you, Sango?"

"No... Th-this is my first time..." Sango said shakily, her eyes fixed straight ahead so she wouldn't look down. "My summoning animal lives on the ground... so I've never needed to before."

"Well, no big deal," said Disura, patting Koyuki's neck affectionately. "It's pretty easy to get used to, and it's a lot quicker than walking. We should be in Kumogakure by late afternoon tomorrow if we stop at an inn for tonight at sunset."

"And that'll give us a lot more time to get acclimated so we don't look so much like outsiders," Tatsumi added. "Great plan, Disura!"

"Thanks." Disura clicked her tongue twice, and the three enormous birds flapped their wings harder and sped off into the distance. Sango just kept her eyes fixed on a distant cloud and did her best not to look down.

* * *

By sunset, the three Konoha kunoichi had passed over several small villages in the Land of Lightning, each seemingly a little farther from the one before it.

"Let's stop in this village for the night," Disura said as she spied yet another rural village on the ground in the distance, surrounded on all sides by a dense forest. The trio of eagles slowed and then gently tilted into a dive. After a short time, they easily landed in the midst of the trees, too far away for any locals to see them. "Thanks, guys," Disura whispered to the birds after the three kunoichi had dismounted. "I owe you one."

"No problem," said Koyuki. "So, will we see you at the same time tomorrow morning as we did today?"

"Yes. I'll summon you all before eight a.m."

"Understood." Ruffling her shining ebony feathers, she vanished in a cloud of smoke; the other two quickly followed suit.

"So, Sango," Tatsumi began, "how was your first flight?"

"It was great! Scary at first, but really great! I can't wait for tomorrow!" Tatsumi laughed, amazed at how adaptable and optimistic her friend was.

"Glad to hear it. Well, I guess we should go see about an inn, huh?"

"Wait!" Sango exclaimed, grabbing Tatsumi's arm.

"What's wrong?"

"We crossed into the Land of Lightning a little while ago. No one here's supposed to know we're shinobi, remember? We kinda look the part right now."

"Oh, right," Tatsumi said, slapping her forehead. "Transform!" she shouted, performing the simple jutsu. After the smoke cleared, Tatsumi looked down at herself. She was dressed in a blood red kimono with a black dragon snaking up from the hem to her left hip. The obi was navy blue with gold flames; black flames were stitched into the sleeves, which hung only eight inches above the ground. Her shoulder-length blonde hair had grown to her hips like Sango's and Disura's, and her snow-white face and neck were in stark contrast to her cherry-red lips.

"Nice!" said Sango, giving Tatsumi the thumbs-up. "Now it's my turn. Transform!" In an instant, her taijutsu suit had changed into a light gold kimono with small silver lotus blossoms on the sleeves and hem. Her obi was made of shining silver silk, and it had a pattern of small gold lotus blossoms on it. She took a compact mirror out of her backpack, which had taken on the shape of a small purse, and gawked at her unusually pale face and shocking red lips. Her long black hair had been gathered up into a heavy, ornate hairstyle; silver flowers dangled from a post in her hair. Sliding the mirror into her obi, she joined Tatsumi in staring impatiently at Disura.

"Oh, come on," the tomboyish kunoichi whined. "Do I really have to?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

"Oh, fine," she sighed. "Transform!" The smoke began to clear around her as she retrieved a mirror from her backpack and held it before her with trembling hands. Her kimono was a deep red-orange. Silver oak leaves trailed up from the hem, momentarily disappearing behind a chocolate-brown obi before crossing over her chest. Reaching up, she gingerly touched her deep brown hair, tucked into the same style as Sango's. "Oh, man!" she moaned, seeing the white makeup completely masking her face. "I look like a vampire right now! Do people seriously find this attractive?"

"Obviously," said Tatsumi.

"Oh, come on, Disura, you _know_ we look good," Sango said, smiling and twirling around in the kimono.

"Yeah, yeah, anyway," said Disura, totally unconvinced, "how about we go and get rooms at the inn now?"

"Good plan," said Tatsumi. "I'm exhausted."

* * *

As they entered the village a little while later, the three girls focused on looking as graceful and sure of themselves as possible. When no one was looking, though, they did stop to stare at some of the most beautiful scenery they had ever seen.

"Wow, look!" Tatsumi said as they stopped on an empty street corner. "I see the mountains the Land of Lightning's famous for!"

Disura and Sango looked to where she was pointing. Far in the distance, the sun was just above the horizon, giving the mountains and the lakes at their bases a warm red-gold glow. Even though it was mid-May, there was still snow on the high peaks, glowing as red as the sun.

"It's beautiful!" said Sango. "I'd want to stay here for a lot longer if we weren't on a mission."

"Speaking of which, there's an inn over there," said Disura.

"It's called... Takaya Inn," Tatsumi read aloud as they approached the front door of the lobby. Striding inside, Tatsumi walked confidently up to the check-in desk.

"How can I help you?" asked the old woman behind the counter.

"We'd each like a room, please."

"Just for tonight?" asked the woman, opening up her reservation book with a bony hand. "Or will you be staying longer?"

"We'll be leaving in the morning."

"Very well," the woman said quietly, brushing back a strand of white hair that had come out of her bun. "That'll be five hundred ryo each." All three of them handed her the money. She turned around and snatched three worn brass keys off of a rack against the wall, dropping them into the girls' outstretched hands. "Your rooms are all on the third floor."

"Thank you," said Disura, bowing to her quickly. The old woman nodded, smiling. The other two bowed, as well, and they all walked up to the third floor to find their rooms.

"Cool," said Sango. "301, 302, and 303. We're all right next door to each other." Tatsumi yawned loudly.

"I think I'll go to bed," said Disura, stifling a yawn of her own.

"Me, too," Sango and Tatsumi said in unison. Once she was inside her room with the door securely locked, Sango released her jutsu and changed into a sleeping robe.

"Tomorrow," she thought excitedly as she climbed into bed, "this mission starts for real!"


	6. Kumogakure

Sango awoke before the sun rose, much to her annoyance. Slowly getting out of bed, she stood and adjusted her robe, fumbling with the belt as she struggled to focus her eyes on it. Yawning, she slid open the paper door to the balcony, stretching as the wind teased her tangled hair.

"Sango!" Tatsumi called softly from the adjacent balcony.

"Morning, Tatsumi!" Sango called back, beginning to wake up a bit more. "When did you get up?"

"About five minutes ago. It's pretty nice out," she added, looking out toward the mountains. The sun had just begun to peek out over the peaks, making the cloudless sky above them glow a bright fuscia. In the stillness of the morning, Sango let her guard down. When the door to the balcony on her right slid open, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"What?" asked Disura, stepping out of the door. "I thought I got my bedhead under control. Do I still look that scary?" Tatsumi snorted with laughter.

"N-no, no, I'm just not all there yet," Sango answered, glad she hadn't screamed like she had wanted to. She noticed that Disura was already dressed and packed; all of her tool pouches hung full at her hips, and her flute was polished to perfection. She smiled and played softly on it as she waited for Tatsumi to gain control of herself.

"So, Disura," Tatsumi finally managed, "why are you ready so early? It's another two hours before you said we would leave."

"I know," Disura said softly, "but there's been a change of plans. The couple in the room next door to me talked very loudly last night, and from what I heard, the Raikage knows about Kairatorin's death. Apparently he doesn't know how or where she died - yet. But if we're gonna get any good information for Lady Tsunade, we'd better do it soon. I think she may have overestimated how much time we'd have."

"Okay," said Sango, fully alert now. "We'll get ready as quickly as we can. I'll be right back."

"I'll wait here," Disura said nonchalantly.

Back inside her room, Sango prepared at lightning speed. Digging quickly through her backpack, she grabbed her taijutsu suit and pulled it on, stuffing her robe into a side pocket. Slipping on her Chunin vest, she fastened her leg weights - one hundred pounds each - onto her calves and tugged her bright orange leg warmers over them. "Whew," she said as she tied her katana to her left hip with her red headband/belt. "This is turning out to be pretty interesting." She wrapped bandages tightly around her arms from her fingertips to her elbows, then shouldered her backpack and made the sign of Transformation. Her shinobi gear was immediately disguised beneath the gold kimono, always ready should she need to change back and fight. After one last look around, she tossed the old brass key onto the bed and strode back out onto the balcony.

Outside, Disura and Tatsumi were waiting for her; both of them were already disguised, as well. The instant Sango closed her door, Disura bit her thumb and spread the blood across her flute. She played the same song she had used the day before and then paused to make hand signs around the flute. "Summoning Jutsu: Winged Hunters!"

Looking up into the sky, Sango quickly spotted the same three eagles they had ridden to town flying toward them. The back of the inn faced the forest, so there was little risk of detection if the birds landed amongst the trees. With one leap, the three kunoichi had disappeared into the dense growth, hardly disturbing a leaf as they went. It took them only moments to find and mount the birds, easily balancing themselves atop their enormous backs.

"Fly as high and fast as you possibly can without killing us!" Disura commanded. Flapping their powerful wings as hard as they could, the birds ascended quickly, flying at least twice as fast as they had the day before. Soon even the mountains seemed small as they soared farther and farther away from the village.

"How high up are we?" asked Tatsumi.

"About five thousand feet," said Disura. "It's extremely important that we stay up high enough to look like small birds. If the guards saw us, they'd probably shoot us down." Sango gulped.

"So, then, how long will it take us to reach Kumogakure?" she asked hesitantly.

"At this speed, we should be there in three hours."

"Hey, Sango, I just remembered something I needed to ask you," Tatsumi said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"What?"

"Did you remember to give Lee a _kiss_ before you left?"

"Of course I did!" Sango retorted indignantly. "I'm way too in love with him not to!" Disura smiled and rolled her eyes, pulling a small cloth out of her backpack to clean the blood from her flute.

"We can't afford to fail this mission," she thought soberly as she continued to wipe the keys. She was so focused on her thoughts that she did not even notice that they were already polished until they shone. "Lady Tsunade's counting on this intel. The fate of our comrades may very well rest on our shoulders!"

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity, the three kunoichi spotted Kumogakure looming in the distance, towering far above the surrounding landscape. The only area of cover was a small forest about five miles outside the village, but it would have to do.

"Let's go," said Disura. The birds swooped down effortlessly into the trees, spreading their wings wide as they landed to slow themselves. "Thanks again, guys," she said as she and her friends dismounted.

"Any time," said Koyuki. She clicked her beak loudly, and the other two disappeared along with her.

"Ready?" asked Tatsumi, steeling herself for what they were about to do.

"Yup," said Sango and Disura.

"Alright, then. Let's go."

Reaching the village took longer than they had expected. Trying to navigate through the forest was especially difficult since they were wearing long kimono with enormous sleeves, not to mention the wedge-shaped shoes typical of geisha and maiko. However, it was too risky to transform back when they were so close to the enemy, so they were forced to endure it. After a solid two hours, they finally stood before the enormous gates, breathing a sigh of relief. Readjusting their kimono, they each pulled a folding fan out of their obi and entered the village.

The streets of Kumogakure were packed with shinobi as well as civilians; mothers carrying children, men in business suits, graceful geisha, and shy young maiko trailed past them in an endless ocean of activity.

"Let's stop there for a while," Sango whispered, pointing to a small restaurant on the corner of the street.

"Good idea," said Tatsumi, following her toward it. As they sat down at one of the small tables, Sango pulled a map out of her backpack, which had once again taken on the appearance of a small purse.

"Okay," she muttered, spreading the map out on the table. "We're here, at North Gate Street. It looks like we need to follow this road south and then east to reach the pleasure quarters."

"And," Disura added, "according to the map, there's a large inn right in the middle of the pleasure district. Pretty convenient for us."

"Before we do anything else," Tatsumi said, "let's ask around and see which tea houses are the best for geisha to work at. I saw some flyers for something called the "Blossom Viewing Festival" that's going on here. Looks like there's a big need for performers at those places right now, luckily for us." The moment she finished her sentence, a young waitress in a bright blue yukata walked over to their table. Sango folded up the map and placed it back in her "purse."

"Can I get you anything?" the young woman asked kindly. "Dumplings? Tea?"

"Ah, tea sounds great. We'd all like a cup of your freshest green tea," Sango answered.

"Coming right up." The waitress hurried away to the kitchen area and returned in no time at all with three cups of hot green tea.

"Thank you so much," said Sango as she took a sip. It really did taste nice.

"You're very welcome," the young woman answered. "Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"There might be," Sango said hopefully, raising the pitch of her voice a bit higher than normal to sound more innocent.

"Oh?"

"Yes. I was just wondering if you knew which teahouses had the best pay and reputations around here. You see, we heard about the Blossom Viewing Festival and came from quite a distance away to perform, but we aren't really familiar with the area." Tatsumi and Disura smiled inwardly, impressed by how easily Sango could lie about something she had known nothing about five minutes before.

"Ah, yes," the waitress answered excitedly. "There have been a lot of teahouses recruiting geisha from other villages. There always seems to be a shortage at this time of year, what with the number of tourists coming to see our rare yellow sakura trees. Ah, but that wasn't your question, was it? Hmm... The best teahouse I can think of would probably be the Ichiriki. Their building is clean and beautiful, and I hear they pay very well; they are always looking for new talent this time of year. It's just south of here. If you follow North Gate Street to where it intersects Hasu Avenue, you'll run right into it."

"Thank you so much for your help," Sango said with a small smile.

"Any time. Enjoy yourselves while you're here."

"Oh, we definitely will." The three girls paid their bill and left a nice tip, then exchanged smug glances as they strolled down North Gate Street, the hems of their kimono fluttering delicately behind them.


	7. Fans and Flutes

The time until the night's activities ticked by as slowly as sap draining from a tree. As soon as the three girls had left the dumpling shop, they had gone straight to the Ichiriki Teahouse to ask for jobs during the festival. The owner had happily accepted and hired them on the spot; the Ichiriki was always short on dancers and musicians. Afterwards, they had gone to the nearest inn and rented a room large enough for all three of them. Now they waited, trying to amuse themselves and unable to leave the inn until nightfall lest they be discovered. Tatsumi and Disura lounged on the beds, staring at the ceiling and discussing various ways of making their kimono easier to move in. Sango, tired of staying in the room, stood outside on the balcony, leaning lazily on the railing and enjoying the sun and the cool breeze.

"Hahhh..." Sango sighed, taking a sip of green tea and watching the shower of yellow sakura blossoms being tossed about on the gentle breeze. She reached into the air and caught one of the floating yellow flower petals between two fingers, staring at it with little interest. "It's pretty nice out here," she whispered to herself. "And this sunset's really beautiful." She paused as a slight wave of sadness came over her. "Two days without Lee and I'm already lonely," she whined. "I'm either really devoted or really pathetic."

"Or maybe both," said Tatsumi, sliding open the paper door and stepping up behind Sango with a grin. She slid the door shut behind her and joined her friend at the railing of the balcony. "It's almost time to go."

"I know."

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Sango said quietly. "I'm a little nervous, though. We've never been on a mission like this before. Entertaining huge groups of older men isn't exactly my specialty. Lee isn't a pig like them, so I've never had to get good at it."

"I know what you mean. Kunoichi classes can only teach you so much. I guess we'll just have to wing it and hope everything works out."

"Yeah..."

Sango and Tatsumi continued to stare at the pink clouds for a while, each of them thinking about just how difficult tonight was going to be. Neither of them spoke; neither wanted to talk about just how frightened they were.

"Well," Sango finally said, "it's almost dark. Let's get Disura and go." Tatsumi shrugged and followed her inside.

* * *

The girls arrived at the Ichiriki just as the sky turned completely black. Stars glowed above them like a million paper lanterns; the cool wind made the long sleeves of their kimono billow around them as they walked. When she reached the front door, Sango stepped out of her tall shoes. Tatsumi and Disura followed her lead.

"Remember," Disura whispered, "we have to try our best to look like we know what we're doing. I know we haven't entertained like this before, but we can use the real geisha as examples. By the way, which dances are you two going to do?" Disura was not going to dance; she had never cared for dancing in kimono and so had never honed the skill.

"I'm doing the snow dance," said Tatsumi.

"And I'm doing the fan dance," said Sango, patting the two dancing fans concealed inside her obi. "Do you know the music for both, Disura?"

"Yes. We're good to go."

"Alright, then," said Sango, taking a deep breath. "Let's go."

Walking into the main hall, Sango noticed that it was already packed with men. Before they even had a chance to close the door, the owner of the teahouse had run up to them, bowing so quickly and repeatedly it made them dizzy.

"There you are good to have you how are you did you find the place alright?" the old woman asked without even pausing for breath.

"We found it fine," Disura answered hesitantly. "No problems at all."

"Good, good!" the woman answered distractedly. "Now that you're here, you can begin as the first acts of the dance festival. Come on, come on, get ready, now!"

"But I -" Tatsumi began.

"Come on, come on!" she repeated, pushing Tatsumi toward the dressing area behind the stage. "You need to change! Your snow dance requires an intricate costume. Hurry, now!" Before Tatsumi could protest, she was yanked through the door by the back of her kimono. Blinking dazedly, Sango and Disura hesitantly followed them.

Backstage, the old woman was standing behind Tatsumi, draping a long white kimono with red trim across her shoulders. Quickly, she unrolled a twenty-foot-long white silk obi and tied it around Tatsumi's waist, folding it so that two long ribbons of fabric dangled almost to the ground from the back. Next, she grabbed a brush and a ribbon, yanking Tatsumi's waist-length red-and-gold hair into a tight bun on top of her head.

"Now, then," she said to Tatsumi, handing her a long black wig, "you're ready to go on after your friends do the fan dance." She grabbed a white silk shawl and loosely draped it over Tatsumi's shoulders, handing her a white parasol. "Wait here until Miss... Er... What was your name, dear?" she asked, addressing Sango.

"San - *ahem* I mean Saki."

"And you two?" she asked of Disura and Tatsumi.

"I'm Densetsu," said Disura.

"And I'm Tatsuyo," said Tatsumi.

"Well, Tatsuyo," said the old woman, patting her gray bun nervously, "wait back here until after Saki and Densetsu have gone."

"Yes, ma'am," Tatsumi said with a deep bow.

"Saki," Disura asked quietly, "is your shamisen ready for me to use?"

"Yes." Sango strode to the other side of the room and lifted her shamisen from its case, handing it gently to Disura.

"Ready?" the owner asked. Sango and Disura nodded. Silently, they strode out onto the stage; the men were two busy chatting amongst themselves to notice them enter. Composing her face with a gentle smile, Disura knelt beside Sango. Sango retrieved the two red-and-gold fans from her obi and turned her back to the men, then nodded to Disura. Nodding back, Disura began softly plucking the strings of the shamisen.

Sango quickly whirled around and cocked one hip, loudly snapping the fans open and revealing their red flower patterns. All eyes were instantly on her. Smiling softly, she moved the fans in delicate arcs across her chest and above her head. Slowly pulling her left arm across her chest, she twirled one of the fans around a long finger, then began twirling both of them as Disura's music picked up speed. Joining the fans together to form a circular shape, she bent backward and turned in a slow arc, keeping her free arm extended far in front of her body. She separated the fans one last time and flipped them into the air, easily catching them between two fingers, and bowed slowly. Every man in the room began to clap loudly, obviously impressed. Disura stood, bowed, and walked offstage with Sango.

"How was it?" Tatsumi asked as she caught sight of them.

"I think they were pretty impressed," said Sango, "which means your dance will blow them away."

"Do you really think so?"

"Sure!" said Disura. "Yours is so much more complex, especially the music."

"Are you ready?" asked the hostess, stepping up beside Tatsumi.

"Yes," she said with an almost inaudible sigh behind her words. "Good luck with the music, guys. And pray that I don't fall!"

* * *

"Okay," Tatsumi whispered to herself as she awaited her cue. "You can do this." She could hear Sango and Disura warming up their instruments just outside the curtain; Disura's flute sounded even more mysterious than usual, accompanied by the soft twanging of Sango's shamisen.

"Are you ready, Tatsuyo?" the hostess asked, anxious to begin. Tatsumi glanced toward Disura, sitting statue-still with her flute poised just in front of her lips. Sango was kneeling on the floor beside her, tuning the shamisen she held in her lap. Sango looked up and winked at her friend, signaling that she and Disura were ready.

"Yes," Tatsumi answered softly. "I'm ready." She slowly stepped forward, slipping her feet into eight-inch-tall black shoes. She glanced toward the owner, who left quickly. Onstage, the lights dimmed; dark cerulean paper lanterns sent an eerie blue glow across the room. The owner clapped once, causing candles in delicate crystal holders to flare into life along the edge of the stage. They gave off no significant light, but served to make the stage look all the more haunting and mysterious. Almost instantly, a heavy silence fell over the room.

Taking a deep breath, Disura began to play a long, high, sad-sounding note. The bamboo curtain flew open and Tatsumi stepped out, seeming to float as she stood upon her towering shoes. The blue light made her face glow ghostly white against her jet-black wig; her expression was one of soft and beautiful sadness. Opening her parasol, which now glowed with translucent blue color, she slowly began to glide forward. A single drum beat sounded and she halted, turning her face toward it with no change in expression.

Looking around once more, she moved forward again, lifting the parasol above her head. As Disura changed to a lower note, Sango entered with a soft and quick shamisen part. Snow began to fall onto the stage. Tatsumi bent forward and extended her free hand, painted as white as her face, out behind her, as if supporting herself against a wall only she could see. She peered into the snow, her hand beginning to tremble. She straightened, her face pointed downward and the parasol hanging limp in her hand. The music steadily grew louder and faster; she closed her eyes and raised the parasol high above her head, anguish plain on her face.

The blue light suddenly brightened, and she swung the parasol around wildly, wielding it like a sword. Her shawl fell silently to the floor and she stepped out of her shoes, leaning back as she dropped the parasol to the floor. Clasping her hands against her chest with a pitiful expression of misery, she whipped her head from side to side as if unsure of where she was. She ran a few steps forward, arms outstretched, then spun in seemingly random patterns, arms flailing so wildly that the sleeves of her kimono whipped about and wrapped around her hands. The notes of the music seemed as sporadic as Tatsumi's movements.

As the music rose to a fever pitch, Tatsumi looked back and dashed forward as if to run from something, then fell to the floor and lay still. The music halted. Slowly, she stood as Sango and a taiko player resumed a slow beat. The lights turned blood red, and Tatsumi remained standing while she bent so far back that her head and hands touched the floor. The crowd burst into applause; some of the men whistled and called out her fake name. Tatsumi stood and bowed with a demure smile, then silently disappeared backstage.


	8. The Raikage's Plot

"Phew," Tatsumi sighed as she combed the remaining "snow" out of her black wig. "That was pretty nerve-wracking. I was so scared I'd screw up!" She hung the wig on a stand near the door. "Hey, Saki, could you help me get my hair out of this?"

"Sure." Sango pulled out the pins holding Tatsumi's hair up, letting it fall down her back once again.

"Okay, now..." Tatsumi muttered, taking off the costume kimono and letting it drop to the floor. She found her own red kimono hanging on the wall and put it back on, although she needed Sango's help to re-tie the obi.

"Alright," said Disura, placing the white kimono on a hook, "let's get to work." As the three of them reentered the main hall, they were greeted by several men.

"We have been waiting for you," said one, taking Sango by the arm and leading her away. Two others guided Tatsumi and Disura as they followed the first man to a large table.

"I am so happy that my dance pleased you," said Sango, leaning a closer to the man who had led her there and raising the pitch of her voice a bit.

"It was lovely," said one of the others. "I have not been this happy in a while, since the Raikage increased our workload."

"He did?" Sango asked, feigning surprise and pity. "That is really too bad. But, no matter what, I'm sure it is only for his citizens' protection." The man looked down nervously.

"Anyway," said another man, "we need to congratulate Tatsuyo for her beautiful dance. Such profound emotion! No one has done that dance so well in years!"

"Thank you," Tatsumi said, smiling shyly.

"And you are even lovelier offstage!" said a man who looked to be near fifty. "Such exotic beauty! Few girls around here have golden hair or green eyes. I could stare into those eyes forever, they're so spellbinding!"

"Th-thank you..." Tatsumi was still smiling, but Sango shivered as she sensed the fury behind her friend's gaze. Had it not been the goal of the mission to be flirted with like this, Tatsumi would have already taken the man to the ground.

"Do you think Lord Raikage will keep everyone safe?" Disura asked, lowering her voice and pretending to be afraid. "I've heard that someone from a neighboring land has killed his daughter. Does this mean they seek war with us?"

"I don't think we'll have any problems," answered a sixty-year-old old man, scarred all over from countless years of work as a shinobi. He put a bony arm around Disura's shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze in an attempt at reassurance. "No need to worry. We've formed alliances with the Sound, Grass, and Mist villages just in case it comes to war. And for my part, I hope it does. Those arrogant fools in Konoha need to be taught a lesson. They think they're all-powerful, but the shinobi of Kumogakure are stronger, smarter, and greater in number. I think it's time for a new leader in military power. Before long, the Land of Fire will be extinguished by our unstoppable might!" His eyes burned with hatred. The three kunoichi kept their faces composed, but none of them could help clenching their fists tightly beneath the table as he spoke.

"Don't get so worked up, Hattori," said another of the old men. "We're in the presence of three beautiful women. This is no time to speak of war."

"You're right," said Hattori, leaning against Disura's arm and smiling lustily at her. "I've taken a special liking to you," he whispered into her ear. She nearly gagged as the strong scent of alcohol wafted out of his mouth. "You're so beautiful, and yet you never try to draw attention to yourself. Your friends get all of this attention, and you look on from the edge of the table. Doesn't that make you a little lonely? Why don't you come home with me tonight, and I'll give you all the attention you could ever want, my sweet."

"Ah," Disura whispered, "but why wait that long? Come to the back room with me instead. I really am lonely sometimes..." She smiled flirtatiously, but Sango and Tatsumi could see the venomous look in her eyes; it sent shivers down their spines.

"I like it!" said Hattori, jumping up from the table and taking Disura's hand in his. As the two of them walked away, Disura lifted the index finger of the hand that hung at her side. It was only a fraction of an inch, so no onlookers noticed, but Sango and Tatsumi knew what it meant. Disura knew exactly what she was doing, and it would not be pretty.

* * *

"Now," said Hattori, shutting the door and gesturing to the futon on the floor, "are you ready?"

"Of course," said Disura. Hattori watched as she untied her obi and stripped down to her slip-like under-kimono; his eyes glinted hungrily as he imagined what lay underneath it. Disura smiled gently and lay on her back on the futon, looking up at him in a way he found unbelievably charming. He knelt down next to her, his hands trembling with excitement as he reached for the sides of her kimono. Just before he could open it, his body was pierced all over by countless invisible needles. He screamed and fell back against the opposite wall.

"What the hell?!" he yelled as blood ran from the numerous wounds.

"That," Disura hissed, "is my Sound Senbon Jutsu. "And this," she added as the end of her flute sharpened into a razor-sharp point, "is my Flute Spear Jutsu!" She drew back her arm and hurled the weapon straight toward Hattori. He screamed again as it stuck through his ribs and pinned him to the wall. Disura released her disguise and slowly approached him. She aimed a hard punch at his face; there was a loud crunch as it connected with his nose.

"H-How...?! How did... A Kunoichi... Trick me...?" Hattori stammered between ragged gasps.

"Tch. You must be getting senile. You should know it's not hard to make a hand sign or two when your enemy doesn't pay any attention to your hands," Disura said icily.

"A-are... You going to kill me...?"

"No," she said flatly. "I'm not in the mood today, lucky for you. You'll live, but you'll definitely regret what you were about to do."

* * *

As soon as Disura had given the signal, Sango and Tatsumi had excused themselves from the table, pretending they needed to use the restroom and instead sneaking into the kitchen, where all of the best alcohol was kept.

"Densetsu gave the signal," Tatsumi whispered, still using the code name in case someone should overhear. "Do you remember what to do?"

"Of course! This is the fun part!" Sango whispered eagerly.

Reaching into her obi, she produced two small red silk bags, each tied at the top with a small gold string. She handed one to Tatsumi, and each of them took a pinch of powder, less than would cover one of their fingernails, and dropped it into a large jug of saké. They swirled the saké around to mix in the powder before pouring it into several smaller bottles. These were placed on serving trays, which they brought back with them into the main hall as soon as the powder bags were safely hidden again. They passed a bottle to each table for the geisha to drink and pour for the men. Then they took the remaining two bottles back to their own table, where the men who had sought them out earlier were waiting. Every man at the table drank the saké the two girls poured for them, even though they had clearly had more than enough already. Tatsumi and Sango simply touched the cups to their lips and pretended to sip the drinks before placing them back on the table.

They didn't have to wait long to get the results they were hoping for. Within five minutes, everyone had begun to act drunk and disoriented, even the unfortunate teahouse owner. Their bodies quickly became paralyzed, and they lost consciousness soon after. Within another minute, every last person lay still on the floor.

"Hmph," Sango snorted, releasing her disguise. "That's what they get. Insult Konoha in front of me, will they?" She paused as she heard a scream of pain and a dull thud echoing down the hall. Tatsumi shook her head and sighed.

"That man should've left Disura alone," she said, nervously tossing a strand of golden hair over her shoulder.

"Agreed."

* * *

"Well, then," said Disura as she reentered a short time later. "Are we ready?" She wiped a small splatter of blood from her fist on her Chunin vest.

"Yeah," Sango answered tiredly.

"Holy crap, Disura!" Tatsumi exclaimed as she saw the blood splattered on Disura's clothes. "What'd you do, kill the guy? He was drunk! He probably didn't even know what he was saying!"

"I know that! Of course I didn't kill him! His face bled a lot when I smacked him senseless, that's all. But I gave him some of that drug you used on these people out here, so tomorrow he won't even remember what happened."

The white powder was a drug Tsunade and her medical team had recently developed for reconnaissance work. It functioned a bit like a genjutsu, causing temporary paralysis and loss of consciousness almost instantly. In addition, it caused amnesia, so the person who was drugged with it would be unable to remember what had happened for several hours before and after receiving the drug. It was potent in extremely small doses, so it was a very useful weapon, and no other ninja village had yet developed a similar formula. Even better, the drug was tasteless and so weak in odor that even the best ninja hounds could not detect it. This left Konoha with an enormous advantage, and Tsunade was sure to keep the formula under lock and key, as well as collecting the extra powder left over from missions in which she allowed it to be used.

"Alright, then," said Tatsumi, now back to her original appearance. "Are you ready for the next step, Disura?"

"You know it!" She grabbed her flute and held it to her lips, playing a clear, soft melody as her fingers danced effortlessly over the keys.

"Good, Disura!" said Sango. "It's working! Keep playing!" Outside, people looked around dazedly for the source of the sound; some staggered or collapsed to the ground. Before long, everyone within a ten-mile radius was ensnared in her genjutsu. They would not awaken until after the three kunoichi were long gone.

"Okay, my turn!" said Tatsumi. She bit her thumb and began making hand signs, then slammed her palm down against the ground and looked skyward. "Summoning Jutsu: Leaf Dragon!" A black shadow passed over the full moon, gliding straight toward them. With a mighty roar and a great flap of its wings, the green beast landed in front of them with its head held high.

"You summoned me, Tatsumi?" the dragon growled. Sango and Disura silently admired his shining green scales.

"Yes. We need a ride to the Sand village."

"Sunagakure? Now why would you want to go there? The place is a perpetual wasteland; not a tree in sight!"

"I know. But we need to request Gaara's help. Konoha and Suna might be attacked soon, and it never hurts to warn our allies."

"Who is attacking Konoha?" the dragon growled thunderously.

"Lightning, Sound, and Grass, at least," Sango answered, counting them off on her fingers.

"Why those - How dare they!" the dragon roared, snarling and flashing the white fangs shining below his glinting yellow eyes. "Hop on, you three! We have no time to lose!" Tatsumi leaped onto his back, the other two close behind her. With one flap of his enormous green wings, the beast soared off into the black sky, leaving the dangers of Kumogakure far behind.


	9. Gaara

Within an hour, they had crossed into the Land of Wind and were gliding over an immense desert.

"Wow!" Sango said, shielding her eyes from yet another gust of sand. "Now I see why they call it the Land of Wind. Even up here there's no escaping the sandstorms. How does Gaara stand it?"

"The guy's pretty much made of sand," said Disura. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't even notice."

"You three," the dragon growled as he continued to fly over the sea of sand. "I see Sunagakure about a mile ahead."

"A mile?!" Sango exclaimed. "How can you see a mile away? I can't see a yard away through this sand! You must have really great eyesight!"

"You don't know the half of it," Tatsumi thought.

* * *

A short time later, the green dragon dove quickly toward the ground, his wings raising a cloud of dust as he landed and tucked them against his scaly body.

"Thanks for the ride, Haru," said Tatsumi.

"Anytime," said the dragon, dipping his head in a sort of bow. "And there is no need to waste chakra summoning me again; I'll wait here until you get back."

"Thanks! We'll be fast," Tatsumi called over her shoulder as she and the others dashed toward the village gate.

"Nice dragon," said Sango. "I bet he's great in bat -" She froze as something cold and sharp whizzed past her cheek. She raised her fingers to her cheek; they came back stained with blood. Disura reached for a kunai. "No!" Sango whispered. "Don't make any sudden moves. It's just the gate guards doing their job."

"Halt!" yelled a deep voice from atop the gate. "State your names and your business here at this time of night."

"We are Sango Hitarashi, Disura Enoki, and Tatsumi Ren of Konohagakure," Sango answered, loudly but calmly. "We have important information regarding Sunagakure's safety, and we need to see Lord Kazekage immediately!" The man leapt off of the wall and landed before her.

"Sure," he said suspiciously. "I'll tell them to let you in if you can prove to me that you're not our enemy."

"Okay." Sango and Disura reached into the pockets of their Chunin vests and handed the man their passports and IDs. Tatsumi dug through her backpack and handed hers over, as well.

"Well," said the guard, returning the passports and IDs to the girls, "I don't see anything weird here. But before I let you go, what is this intelligence about?"

"The Land of Lightning plans to attack Leaf and Sand. They have some allies lined up, as well. To beat their numbers, we need to make sure Konoha's allies are well-prepared, too," Disura explained.

"I see. Hurry, then. And thanks for your help."

"Thank you," said Sango. She dashed off, the other two close behind her.

When they reached the Council Building, they threw open the doors and dashed up the stairs. Sango was too busy looking for Gaara's office to notice where she was running. As she turned a corner, she collided with someone who was carrying a large stack of wooden crates; both of them fell to the floor with a crash as the crates flew in all directions.

"Ugh..." she groaned, lying sprawled on her stomach on top of two of the crates.

"Watch where you're going, you klutz!" the other person snapped.

"Sorry, sorry!" Sango squeaked, blushing in embarrassment. "Wait, I know that voice..." She quickly looked up. "Ruku?! What are you doing here?!"

"I should ask you the same thing. Aw, man!" Ruku groaned, rubbing his shoulder. "When you tackle someone you really don't kid around, Sango! I'll be sore for a week!"

"Yeah, uh, sorry about that... Oh! But we'll talk later. Right now I have to talk to Gaara."

"Sango!" said Tatsumi as she and Disura rounded the corner, both panting from exhaustion. "You really need to stop leaving us behind and - Ruku?!"

"No time to talk, apparently," Ruku said with a shrug. "Jakku's not far behind me. We'll be there in a second."

"I, um, well, okay..." Tatsumi stammered, confused. Following Sango, who had once again taken off at a sprint, she and Disura entered Gaara's office; he didn't even look up from his paperwork.

"What do you need, Temari?" he asked impatiently. "It's late, and I still have work to do."

"Er, I'm not Temari," said Sango. Gaara glanced quickly in her direction before returning to his papers.

"Oh, Rock Lee. I'm sorry, but I'm a bit busy now. What do you need?"

"Erm..." Gaara looked up again, this time seeing Sango's face, and nearly fell out of his chair.

"I'm so sorry!" he said earnestly. "I thought you were a man I know from Konoha; the two of you look so much alike. Do you know him, by any chance? His name is Rock Lee."

"Actually, yeah. He's my teammate and boyfriend."

"I see," Gaara said amusedly. "So the mother hen's chick has a girlfriend now. Anyway, what brings you three here so late?"

"We're concerned for the safety of Konoha and Suna," said Tatsumi. Gaara's expression grew serious again.

"And what are your concerns?" he asked just as Ruku and Jakku entered the room.

"We have reason to believe that Kumogakure plans to attack our two villages very soon," said Disura.

"Where did you learn this?"

"From the shinobi in Kumogakure," answered Sango. "We were sent by Lady Tsunade to gather information about their military plans. We went undercover, and the men in the pleasure district unsuspectingly told us everything."

"This is unsettling. Have they made any alliances?"

"Yes," said Tatsumi. "They've already allied with Kusagakure and Otogakure, but there may be more that we have not heard of yet."

"So," said Gaara, folding his hands on the desk, "I take it you've come to ask for Suna's help against Kumogakure?"

"Yes," said Sango. "We're already allies in peacetime, and Kumogakure couldn't take us both out at once. So please consider it and -" Gaara held up a hand to silence her.

"You don't even need to ask me to consider it. Of course we'll help. Right, Kikyo?" He was addressing someone at the back of the room who they had not noticed before. A girl with waist-length black hair rose from the armchair near the window at the back of the room, her red silk robe rustling softly.

"Of course," she said gently, striding up behind Gaara. "Konoha saved your life and this village. As shinobi and as comrades, it's our duty to help." She gently laid her hands on his shoulders. "It'll mean more paperwork, but Temari, Kankuro, and I can help you."

"Yes..." Gaara took one of her hands in his and gave it a quick squeeze. The five Leaf ninja stared at him in shock.

"What?" asked Kikyo, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "Oh, that's right. I bet you didn't know Gaara had a girlfriend. My name's Kikyo Hanasamai. I'm sixteen, a Chunin, and a natural-born citizen of Sunagakure."

"Which is a blessing," Gaara added. "So, *ahem*, anyway, you can definitely count on Sunagakure's help. Without a doubt, every Chunin and Jônin will join the battle if need be, as will I. I will be in Konoha to speak with Lady Tsunade about this in a few days. Get home safely, all of you, and thank you for your help."

"Any time," said Disura. Gaara nodded, and the five departed with a few quick waves over their shoulders.

"Now," said Tatsumi, "we _finally_ get to go home and get some decent sleep!"

* * *

"So, Jakku," said Disura as they all strode toward the gate, "why are you two here?" All five shinobi now bowed under the weight of three wooden crates each.

"Well," Jakku began, "since Lady Tsunade is training me, it's also a given that she'll send me on errands once in a while. This time, I came to pick up these crates; they're full of herbs grown here in Suna. Apparently they're rare and expensive around Konoha because they need a desert climate to thrive, so Lady Tsunade buys them from here to use in her medicines."

"So then why's Ruku here?" asked Tatsumi.

"Do you think I could've carried fifteen crates of herbs back to Konoha on my own, even if they are small?"

"Good point."

"I mean, Lady Tsunade said that ideally she would've sent Sango since she's so physically strong, but since you three were busy, Ruku was the next available person."

"Wow, Jakku. I can really feel the love," Ruku said, pretending to be extremely offended.

"Oh, shut it," Jakku retorted. "You know Sango could whip you in a weight-lifting contest with nine of her fingers tied down. It's not an insult, it's just a fact."

"I know, I know," said Ruku, grinning at Sango. "The girl's a fitness freak; I can't beat her." Sango gently punched him in the arm, almost dropping her stack of crates in the process. A low rumble suddenly met their ears, interrupting their friendly argument.

"You're late, Tatsumi," Haru growled low in his throat.

"Sorry." She glanced at Ruku. "I got a little sidetracked."

"No matter. Hop on and we'll be home by sunrise." Tatsumi quickly hopped onto his back, followed by Ruku and Jakku.

"Wait," said Ruku. "What about Disura and Sango?"

"Don't worry about us," said Disura. She bit her thumb and began to play the complicated summoning tune. "Summoning Jutsu: Eagle Storm!" Looking skyward, she smiled in satisfaction; five gigantic bald eagles were flying toward them at blinding speed. Two of them dove toward Sango and Disura, using their sharp beaks to grab the girls' Chunin vests and toss them onto their backs. The other three picked up the fifteen crates, each carrying two in each clawed foot and one in their beak.

"Wow!" Ruku gasped. "You've really got this summoning thing down, Disura! That was amazing!"

"It's because Kakashi-sensei is such a great teacher," said Disura. After the last crate had been picked up, the two largest eagles and Haru lifted off; the other three flew just behind them, easily gliding despite the awkward shapes of their burdens. Soon the animals reached their desired height and settled into a glide. Lulled into a sense of contentment by the starry sky and endless sea of sand, Sango leaned against her eagle's neck and fell into a peaceful sleep.


	10. The Sparring Match

After what seemed like only seconds, Sango was jostled awake as the eagle she rode swept into a dive. Yawning, she looked out over the horizon, enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping her long hair out behind her like a horse's tail. The sun was just beginning to rise, coloring the clouds bright pink and lavender and hiding all but a handful of the stars in the sky.

"Finally!" Tatsumi shouted as she stretched on Haru's back, waking Ruku and Jakku behind her. "I can see Konoha. It's about time we got back!" Haru and the birds quickly neared the ground and touched down easily with only the tips of their toes. The five shinobi quickly dismounted and picked up the crates; Tatsumi and Disura nodded to the animals, and they all disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Well," said Sango, who held eight of the crates herself with no difficulty. "Let's get going, shall we?"

After a few minutes, the crates of herbs had been safely stored in the hospital's back room Sango now stood alone in the middle of her favorite training field, mentally preparing for the intense workout she had wanted to do for the last three days. "Alright. Here we go," she whispered before inhaling deeply. "AATCHAAA!" She punched a large boulder with only the force of her two largest knuckles, causing it to shatter into small shards of rock that stung her like shrapnel. She grinned and puffed out her chest, proud of her handiwork. With little effort, she sprang forward, catching her full weight on only the index finger of her right hand. One hundred one-finger push-ups on each hand? Child's play...

"Phew," Sango sighed, wiping her sweaty forehead one hour of training later. She raised her head and squinted up at the bright sky. "Judging by the sun's position, it's about eight a.m. or so. Lady Tsunade should be in her office by now. I should go report our intel."

* * *

"Lady Tsunade!" cried Sango, flinging open the office door. Once again, she had sprinted there as fast as she could, nearly running over several terrified people in the process. She really could be dangerous when she wasn't paying attention.

"Sango!" said Tatsumi and Disura, who were already there waiting for her.

"Ah, Sango," said Tsunade, intertwining her fingers on the desk in front of her. "I was just about to ask these two how the mission went. You're back eleven days early."

"Yes," said Disura. "We got what we needed yesterday and came back as quickly as we could."

"And what were your findings?"

"You were right," said Tatsumi. "The Land of Lightning plans to attack Konoha and Suna very soon."

"Suna? Does Gaara know about this?"

"Yes," said Sango. "He said he'll be here to discuss everything with you in a few days."

"And has Kumogakure made any alliances?"

"Yes," said Tatsumi. "We know they're definitely allied with Grass and Sound, but there could be more that the lower shinobi don't know about yet."

"I don't doubt it. The Mist village despises Konoha, so they'll most likely join soon. Well, then!" she said hotly. "We'll just form alliances of our own! I'll kick up the training of all our medics and start getting the village's weapon and food storages divided up. I knew I made the right choice when I sent you three. Warn every person you can about Kumogakure before I make the formal announcement. Your lives are about to get very interesting. Any questions?"

"No, ma'am," the three girls said in unison.

"Good. Then go and start training!"

* * *

"Hey, guys," said Disura as the three of them walked through town. "I've got an idea of how we can all train together - Ruku and Jakku, too."

"How?" asked Tatsumi.

"Well, instead of having our little sparring match later this summer, why not have it today? I know it's only May sixth, but under the circumstances we may not have much free time later on."

"Yeah," said Sango. "I've been really impatient for our match since we talked about it at the party. Plus, it's a great way to show off some of our new jutsu."

"So it's a plan?"

"Yep," said Tatsumi. "Let's go get Ruku and Jakku."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the five shinobi stood in the center of the training field. Everyone's teammates and sensei had gathered around the edges to watch; someone had even gotten word to Tsunade, who had come to watch Jakku.

"Okay," said Kakashi, stepping into the middle of the clearing. "Before we begin, let's go over a couple of rules. Number One: no summoning. This isn't war; let's keep it simple. Number Two: no leaving this area. Once again, it's sparring, not war; you don't need to be camouflaged. Number Three: no killing, obviously, so no deadly techniques. Cuts, sprains, broken bones - those are all fine. With Lady Tsunade here, you're in no real danger from those. Number Four: when there is one person left standing, the match is over. Or, if you're the type who refuses to pass out even after you've all exceeded your limits, I'll stop the match. Are we clear?" Everyone nodded. "Okay, then - GO!"

"Hmph," Sango snorted, smiling confidently. She reached down and slipped off her bright orange leg warmers, unfastening the training weights that lay beneath and holding them up.

"So that's why she wears leg warmers," said Jakku.

"You didn't already know that?" Disura asked incredulously.

"Well, considering I'm a guy and I don't watch you girls dress," Jakku replied, "then no, I didn't know."

"And I thank you for that, Jakku," Sango replied with a chuckle.

"Those weights can't be that heavy," Ruku scoffed.

"Oh, really?" Sango tossed the weights behind her with a flick of her wrists; they created two explosions of dust and rock as they embedded themselves in the ground.

"Holy- What in the- She's superhuman!" stammered Ruku.

"Alright, let's go." Sango took off at lightning speed, loosening the bandages around her hands and arms as she ran.

"We'll see how fast you are," growled Ruku, making rapid hand signs. "Water Style: Water Whip!" As he spoke, water rose from the ground and collected in his palm in the shape of a rope. He swung it forward; a crack resonated through the air as it coiled around Sango's legs.

"Ack!" she grunted as she crashed to the ground and slid. Before a smug grin could completely cross Ruku's face, she used her legs to pull hard on the whip, sending him flying like a rock from a slingshot.

"That's it, Sango!" Guy yelled with tears in his eyes. "Show them the power of your youth!"

"Yeah! Go, Sango!" Lee called to her. Sango grinned at them before turning her attention back to Ruku, who had recovered and was coming at her with a frenzy of water jutsu.

"Heh. My turn," said Tatsumi. "Fire Style: Fire Storm Jutsu!" A red cloud spread over the field, eclipsing the sun until it was as dark as night. With a bright flash, balls of fire rained down from the cloud, filling the air with flames and filling the air with opaque smoke. Using the lowered visibility to her advantage, Tatsumi dashed through the rain of fire, striking all of the others before they could see her. "Got 'em," she said proudly, extinguishing the flames with a wave of her hand.

"Not yet!" cried Jakku, appearing behind her. He focused his chakra to his fist and sank it into Tatsumi's stomach, sending her flying across the field.

"Where's Disura?" Sango whispered to herself as she peered through the smoke. "I can't let myself get caught in her genjutsu!" Through the rustling of the trees, she could hear a soft, resonating note. "To my left!" She darted through the smoke until she spotted the outline of a blurry black silhouette, standing with its arms raised to chest-level. "Disura," she thought. The figure continued to play the song, undisturbed. "Good, she can't see me through all this smoke." Sango sprinted forward at blinding speed, aiming a punch straight at Disura's flute.

"Wha-" Disura gasped, looking up in surprise as Sango appeared before her.

"Too late!" Sango's fist connected solidly with the instrument, bending the metal until it snapped in two. She kicked Disura under the jaw, then, sending her flying twenty feet away.

"You're good, Sango," said Disura, wiping her lips and spitting blood onto the ground, "but not good enough!"

Sango gasped as Disura dissolved into a stream of rainbow-colored dust and disappeared into the wind. Soon, fifty Flute Spears rose from the ground and thrust themselves through her body. A river of blood gushed from her mouth, making it nearly impossible to breathe. She could see Tatsumi, Jakku, and Ruku dying just yards from her as she gasped for breath.

"Look at your students now," said Kakashi, addressing the other Jônin. "Disura had them in her genjutsu from the first note. This match is as good as over."

"Well played, Disura," said Sango. "You caught me. But I still won't lose!" With eyes blazing, Sango took a kunai from her tool pouch and stabbed it deep into the flesh of her thigh. The sharp pain shooting through her leg snapped her back to her senses, and the scene before her returned to normal. The other three followed suit; Disura hardly seemed surprised.

"Nice job," she said flatly. "You broke my illusion."

"Time to finish this!" cried Jakku. "Lightning Style: Lightning Bullets!" Bolts of lightning shot from his fingertips and hit the other four with a surprising amount of force. Tatsumi and Ruku recovered quickly and countered with fireballs and water senbon. In one last rush, all five dashed forward, each punching another under the jaw. The force sent them all flying back a great distance, where they slammed into the ground on their backs and lay still.

"Well," Kurenai said calmly, "it's over."

"It was a pretty good fight," said Kakashi, picking up Disura and carrying her across his shoulders. Kiba and Lee followed his example and carried Tatsumi and Sango.

"There's definitely a reason they're all Chunin," Asuma agreed as he hoisted Ruku up and onto his shoulders. Tsunade nodded at him, carrying Jakku a little gingerly.

"Well, let's get them to the infirmary," said Kurenai. "Knowing these five, they probably gave each other quite a few injuries and just didn't complain about them."

"They probably won't wake up until tomorrow, either," said Guy, beaming with pride for his student. "Ah, the joy of youth!"

"What a drag," said Shikamaru. "How could Ruku let himself get beat by a couple of girls?"

"And what exactly is wrong with girls?" snapped Ino, cracking her knuckles threateningly.

"Nothing, I just meant-"

"Guys, guys," Choji interjected. "Hurry up. We don't have time for this." Shikamaru just sighed, and then fell into stride with the rest of the group as they started back toward Konoha.


	11. Sasuke Returns

The next morning dawned sunny and clear. Birds chirped as they flew through the cloudless blue sky; the streets of Konoha were alive with the buzz of people talking, laughing, and shouting the prices of their wares to anyone who would listen. Opening her eyes, Sango stretched and slipped out of the hospital bed she had been sleeping in, flinching as her bare feet touched the cold tile floor.

"So you're finally awake," said Disura, sitting up in the bed beside Sango's.

"How long was I out?" Sango asked with a yawn.

"All five of us passed out yesterday, and I didn't wake up until a few minutes ago. I guess our sensei took all of us to the hospital after the match."

"That was some fight."

"Yeah," said Disura, rubbing her jaw. "And you've got a heck of a right hook."

"Well you've got some insanely powerful genjutsu," said Sango, examining the spot where the kunai had pierced her leg and noticing that there was no longer any trace of a wound. She would have to be sure to thank Tsunade later.

"Thanks. Anyway, the others already left to train. We should, too." Sango nodded in agreement, and they quickly departed.

* * *

"Hmm..." Tatsumi muttered as she walked toward the Chunin training grounds. "That fight yesterday definitely proves that my jutsu need more work; especially _that_ jutsu." She paused, sensing the presence of bloodlust in the air. "No way..." she gasped." It can't be - not him!" She leaped onto a nearby rooftop and peered out over the streets of Konoha. "Please don't let me be right..." Her eyes found exactly what she had hoped they wouldn't. With a sigh, she dropped down from the roof and landed in front of the tall man dressed in black and white, not daring to look into his face.

"Well, who do we have here?" sneered a chillingly familiar voice. "You're in my way, you know." Tatsumi's head snapped up at the sound of the man's voice, and she found herself staring straight into the cold, cruel black eyes of Sasuke Uchiha.

"Sasuke," she growled. "Why have you come back?"

"No particular reason," he said indifferently. "I'm just looking for answers to a few of my questions."

"How did you even enter Konoha? Everyone here knows you for what you are."

"I didn't kill anyone, if that's what you're getting at. The Anbu didn't even try to stop me."

"They may not have, but I will!" Tatsumi was beginning to let her emotions cloud her better judgment. "I'll make you regret what you put the people of Konoha through; especially Squad Seven. How could you do that to your own teammates, you bastard?!"

"They were weak. It was holding back my potential. Sakura and Disura, especially; they'll never amount to anything," he said in his usual monotone. By this point, people had begun to gather in the street to see if Sasuke had indeed returned.

"You wanna bet?!" Tatsumi practically screamed. "Sakura's a medic now and nearly as strong as Lady Tsunade; Disura knows the Chidori and genjutsu that easily overpowers the Mangekyo Sharingan! You have no idea how strong they are!" Tatsumi knew she was bluffing a bit about the genjutsu's strength, but she was so angry she no longer cared.

"Hmph. None of that matters now. No one in this village is a match for me!" Sasuke reached behind his back and unsheathed a shining steel katana. His stance sent shivers down Tatsumi's spine; she had spent enough years sparring with Sango to know what was about to happen.

"Everyone get back! Hide and get back!" Tatsumi yelled. The people scattered and ducked into their homes just as Sasuke began running chakra through his blade; the blue energy crackled like lightning with the sound of a thousand birds' chirping.

"Too bad," said Sasuke. "It looks like I'll have to kill you here and now." He lunged at Tatsumi and she ducked, the sword missing the top of her head by half an inch.

"I'd hoped I wouldn't have to use that jutsu," Tatsumi thought as she dodged once again. "It takes so much chakra. But I don't really have a choice." She took off after Sasuke as he tore out of the village, matching his speed by focusing her chakra to her feet. He reached the edge of the forest and stopped, glaring at her over his glowing blade; the Sharingan burned blood-red in his eyes.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" yelled Tatsumi, making hand signs as fast as she could. Flames began to stream from her mouth in the form of a flower, her anger and fear causing the normally red fire to burn blue-white. Sasuke gasped; the fire scorched his hair and clothes as he dodged it by millimeters. She blasted fire at him again and again, missing by mere millimeters each time.

"She's good," Sasuke thought. "Without my Sharingan, she'd have had me." He looked into Tatsumi's eyes, and his confidence returned as he saw fear and exhaustion beginning to show in her features. He could tell she was beginning to get desperate, so he decided to toy with her a little bit, and formed the hand sign of the Clone Jutsu.

"A doppelganger is useless," Tatsumi snapped. A loud crack rang through the air and the clone that had appeared behind her immediately vanished. Her hands formed the sign of the Transformation Jutsu; a large, spiked reptilian tail thrashed around behind her.

"I should have known you were a Beast Mimicry user," Sasuke said icily. "You're certainly as crazy as an animal to take me on."

"Who's calling who crazy?" Tatsumi spat, sending another stream of fire his way. He dodged effortlessly; her attacks were beginning to lose accuracy as she tired. "I've gotta finish this fast," she thought. "I used way too much chakra on that white fire. Why didn't I listen to Disura about not getting worked up so easily? Gah, where are those stupid Anbu when you need them?!"

"Hah!" Sasuke grunted, throwing a kunai at Tatsumi. She easily dodged, countering with a lower-level Fireball Jutsu. Soon, Sasuke returned the Chidori to his blade.

"I have to get out of here. I haven't fully recovered from yesterday, and I'm almost out of chakra," Tatsumi thought. "Art of Beast Mimicry!" As she sped away from Sasuke, her canines lengthened and sharpened into knife-like points; her nails grew, thickening as they rounded into claws. Noticing her slowing retreat, Sasuke confidently released his Sharingan and pursued her, easily catching up. Whirling around, Tatsumi lunged at him, managing to rake her claws across his chest.

"Ungh!" Sasuke gasped, clutching the bleeding wounds. As Tatsumi prepared to attack again, two Anbu leaped toward Sasuke, throwing a storm of kunai. He dodged every one and quickly took them down with his own chakra-infused kunai.

"You will die here!" Tatsumi yelled. She bared her teeth and lunged again, growling savagely as her claws ripped into his right arm.

"Too late." Sasuke smiled as he slashed her right side with his katana; the Chidori deepened the cut and made jagged gashes along the edges of it.

"AAAAAGH!" Tatsumi screamed as the pain ripped through her body. She fell to the ground and clutched her side, a pool of red staining the ground around her. Her claws and teeth lost their strength, reverting back to their original form in an instant.

"Well, well," said Sasuke, chuckling quietly, "looks like you couldn't kill me after all. Too bad..." He smiled at her pain, shaking her blood from his sword as boredly as if it were only a few droplets of water. "I guess I should give you an honorable death," he whispered, quite enjoying this. Tatsumi watched him lift the blade through tear-filled eyes, awaiting the final strike. Suddenly, two kunai flew through the air, stabbing Sasuke in the shoulder and thigh. He grunted and jerked them out, and then retreated into the forest.

"Unnh..." Tatsumi groaned softly. She felt a pair of strong arms gently lift her up, just making out the faces of the two Anbu through the darkness that had somehow crept into her vision. Her body tensed in another wave of pain, and she let herself slip into the darkness without a fight.


	12. Tears

Sango and Disura stood alone in the training field, having decided to improve their jutsu together after leaving the hospital room. They had arrived at the Chunin Training Grounds not long ago, and both were feeling confident and energized after their sparring match the day before.

"Hey, Sango," Disura said with a sly smile. "Check this out!" She crouched down and focused her chakra to her right hand; the usually invisible energy assumed a semi-solid form, crackling around her hand like blue lightning. She took off running, headed toward a wall of boulders near the base of one of the mountains that framed the edge of Konoha's territory. "Chidori: One Thousand Birds!" Disura slammed her hand against one of the largest boulders; her chakra cut through it like a knife cuts butter, leaving a gaping hole in the center of the rock. She whirled around, beaming proudly at her friend.

"Whoa!" Sango shouted, clapping her hands delightedly. "That's awesome! When did you learn Chidori?"

"Kakashi-sensei taught it to me while we were training in Bara Pass; that's where I learned Summoning, too."

"But I thought you needed Sharingan to learn the Chidori."

"Not with the right training, you don't." Disura paused as she heard a sound behind her and turned to look over her shoulder. "Hey, isn't that Guy-sensei talking to Kakashi-sensei over there?"

"Yeah," Sango answered slowly, "and here come my teammates, too. They all look so serious..." Sango and Disura waited, confused, as Kakashi and Team Guy made their way over to them.

"Sango," Guy said solemnly, "come with me, please." Sango gave Lee a confused look, but he averted his eyes.

"You too, Disura," Kakashi said gently.

"Yes, Guy-sensei? What is it?" Sango asked, now even more confused.

"Sango..." he said hesitantly. "I have bad news for you."

"Y-yes?" Sango's heart began to race.

"There's been an attack in Konoha," Kakashi answered instead. "The whole village has been ordered to return to their homes. We already warned Squad Seven and came to find you too, since Neji and Tenten refused to return to their apartments until they knew where you were."

"Who was the attacker?" Disura asked nervously. Kakashi sighed.

"It was Sasuke."

"What...?" Disura whispered hoarsely, as if the information hadn't quite registered. "He's back?"

"No. He escaped into the forest. Lady Tsunade sent the Anbu after him, but..."

"What could he want?" Disura whispered, almost helplessly.

"We don't know yet. He never reached whatever his objective was, because someone stopped him from getting very far into the village."

"Wait a minute," Sango said, beginning to feel fear creeping up her spine. "You said he attacked someone. Who was it?" Guy looked pityingly at Sango as he and Kakashi placed their hands on their pupils' shoulders.

"The victim..." Guy answered, "...was Tatsumi Ren."

"No!" Sango couldn't breathe; it felt as if she had just been punched in the stomach.

"Don't tell me... she's..." Disura choked, fighting back tears.

"No," said Kakashi. "She's not dead. The Anbu brought her to the hospital, and Lady Tsunade's treating her now."

"Well then, let's go!" Sango cried, dashing off at breakneck speed with Disura close behind.

* * *

"Sango! Disura!" Ruku shouted as they dashed into the waiting room. "Tatsumi's here, but they won't let me see her! Do you know how- mmph!" He was cut short as Jakku cupped a hand over his mouth from behind.

"Quiet, Ruku!" Jakku hissed. "This is a hospital, remember?" Just then, Tsunade entered the room, looking tired and grim. "How is Tatsumi, Lady Tsunade?"

"She made it," Tsunade answered wearily, "but she's not out of danger yet. We stopped the bleeding and stabilized her vitals, but she lost a lot of blood, and her chakra flow is completely disrupted. Besides which, she's having trouble breathing and hasn't opened her eyes at all since the Anbu found her in the forest.

"Can we see her?" Ruku managed in a strangled whisper. Tsunade nodded and led them down a long hallway, stopping at one of the doors to the I.C.U. She opened the door, and they stepped in with heavy hearts. Tatsumi was lying motionless on a bed near the window; it gave a clear view of Konoha Lake and the forest. Her face was ashen, and her eyes moved restlessly beneath their lids. An oxygen mask covered the lower half of her face, and her mouth was pulled taut with pain. She was wrapped in blood-soaked bandages from her shoulders to her hips; they stretched with each ventilator-assisted breath.

"How did this happen?" asked Jakku.

"I don't know all the details yet," said Tsunade, "but apparently she tried to confront Sasuke alone and he struck her with the Chidori Blade." Tatsumi moaned.

"I'll kill him!" Disura burst out. "I don't care if he was my teammate! If I ever see that bastard again, I'll kill him!" The others stared at her, a little shocked. She was usually so calm and level-headed that an outburst like this was extremely uncommon.

"Lady Tsunade!" said Sakura, entering the room.

"Yes, what is it?" the blonde answered impatiently.

"It's about Tatsumi." Sango didn't like the worried look on Sakura's face. "We're all trying, but even Shizune can't figure out why we haven't been able to wake her up. We think it might have something to do with the change in her chakra flow, but... Well, how can we reverse something like this?"

"There may be a way. Jakku, follow Sakura and me to the medical library. We need every medic we have available to help find a cure." Jakku nodded and followed them out the door.

"I guess... we should go..." said Ruku, brushing away a tear. Sango and Disura silently followed him out, shutting the door softly behind him and leaving Tatsumi in the care of the I.C.U. medics.

Lee and Guy were waiting for Sango when she entered the lobby.

"How is Tatsumi?" Lee asked quietly.

"Sh-she... She may not..." Sango was unable to say it aloud. She buried her head in Lee's arms and sobbed, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. He hugged her tight and she held onto him, never wanting him to let go of her. Seeing his beloved in so much pain made Lee feel as if his heart would break. He gently stroked her long black hair, trying to console her and wishing he could do something to make it better. He hugged her closer to him, wanting to take her pain away and knowing he could not; he could feel her hot tears soaking through his sleeve.

"I'm s-sorry..." Sango whispered. "I know I shouldn't cry, but if I'd just been there then maybe-"

"Sango," Lee said firmly, "you cannot blame yourself for one bit of this. There was no way for you to know that any of this would happen. You know that, I know that, and Tatsumi knows that. And no amount of blame and regret can undo what has already happened."

"You're right... I'm sorry. I love you so much."

"I love you, too," he whispered, smiling and wiping a tear from her cheek. "And remember, angels like you have no need to cry. Tatsumi has to make it. She could never leave a friend like you - not now, not ever." Sango smiled at him and dried her eyes on her sleeve.

"Thank you, Lee. And... I guess we ought to get back to training now that the lockdown has been lifted, right?"

"Are you sure?" asked Guy, who had decided to give the two of them space until they had had a chance to talk. "Will you be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She looked over at Disura and Ruku, both meeting her gaze with wet eyes, and nodded.

"Well," said Ruku, "we should leave. We need to train, too. After all, this battle with Kumogakure's gonna happen whether we're ready for it or not."

"Yeah," said Disura, "and now we have to make up for Tatsumi being out of the running, too." Guy gave them an encouraging nod, and they joined Sango and the rest of her team and left for the training field.


	13. Jakku's Resolve

For the fourth time that week, Sango entered the Yamanaka Flower shop, the small bell above the door announcing her arrival. It had been five days since Tatsumi had been attacked, but despite the best efforts of the medics, her condition had not improved. Sango visited her every day, hoping against hope that there would be a change for the better.

"Hi, Sango!" Ino called from behind the counter. "How's Tatsumi? Any better today?"

"No," Sango replied with a sigh. "She hasn't gotten any worse, really, but that wound won't seem to heal no matter what they do." She leaned over to examine a bin of rare lotus flowers. Their delicate petals were blood-red and streaked with orange and gold, making them look just like fireballs; as a result, they were called "Fire Lotus," and they were Tatsumi's favorite flower.

"Ah, the Fire Lotus," Ino said approvingly. "It represents endurance and strength, because these little flowers only grow in half-frozen ponds deep in the Land of Snow. No other flower can survive there."

"Endurance and strength, huh? That must be why it's Tatsumi's favorite."

"Well then, take it! It's on the house."

"Thank you very much!" Sango bowed deeply and left in a hurry, running in the direction of the hospital.

* * *

After a short while, Sango reached the gate to the hospital and looked up at the window to Tatsumi's room. Noticing that it was closed, she continued on her way to the front doors. Suddenly, she noticed Ruku leaning out of a high window and realized she had been looking at the room next door to Tatsumi's. Oblivious to her presence, Ruku ducked back inside; Sango stood motionless until she could hear his voice drifting down to her from the open window. She chuckled to herself, suddenly struck with a brilliant idea.

"Now I can get him back; this'll be fun." Striding up to the wall, she leapt into the air and clung to the bricks with her chakra. She scaled it in no time and crouched on top of Tatsumi's windowsill, winking and putting a finger to her lips when Disura and Jakku spotted her; they nodded, almost imperceptibly, and Ruku paid them no mind. Sango stared hard at Ruku, whose back was turned to her, and then cupped her hands to her mouth and inhaled deeply. "RUUUKUUU!" she screamed.

"YAAAAH!" he yelled, whirling around so quickly that he lost his balance and fell onto his back. "Sango?! What the hell was that for?!"

"You did it to me first. Now we're even." Jakku, who usually would have scolded them for being so loud in a patient's room, was too busy laughing to care. Ruku sighed and stood, glancing at the spiked lines appearing on a beeping monitor - one for each erratic beat of Tatsumi's heart. One beat shot high above the rest, and Tatsumi winced in pain, still trapped in a comatose sleep. Ruku's face twisted into a snarl.

"Sasuke, that son of a bitch!" he growled furiously. "If I ever see him again, Itachi'll seem like a fuzzy little kitten in comparison! I'll kick his ass and grind his disgusting pretty-boy face into the dirt, that little mother-"

Jakku had had enough. He quickly clamped a hand around Ruku's mouth, pinning his arms to his sides so he couldn't break free and continue his rant. Sango and Disura glared coldly at their friend, not fond of his word choice.

"Look," Jakku said sternly, "I know you're angry; so am I. But please, try to keep it down and minimize the swearing. It doesn't matter what _you_ do, _I'm_ the one that gets in trouble with Lady Tsunade. And her punishments are really harsh, so I'd rather not, okay?"

"Sor-_ry_," Ruku muttered like a sulking child as Jakku released him. As if on cue, Tsunade entered the room, immediately followed by Shizune and Sakura.

"Has she improved at all, Lady Tsunade?" asked Sango. Tsunade sighed.

"According to these readings, she's actually getting worse. Her heart rate and chakra flow have greatly decreased, and so has her respiration. It's like our treatments haven't done a thing."

"Do you think... she'll make it?" asked Disura, tears beginning to sting her eyes.

"At this point, there's no way to tell." Sakura and Shizune looked sadly toward Tatsumi. Disura excused herself from the room, unable to hold back her tears any longer. "Sakura, Shizune, go search the chakra treatment records again, please. I'll join you shortly."

"Yes, ma'am," they said in unison. The others left to aid in the search in any way they could, leaving Sango alone with Tatsumi and Tsunade. Walking over to Tatsumi's bed, Sango reached up beneath her long black hair and unclasped a thin silver chain holding a sterling silver leaf symbol from around her neck. The necklace was one of Sango's most prized possessions; it was the one Guy had given to her and her teammates on their first day as his students. Tsunade looked on with an aching heart as Sango lifted Tatsumi's head and gently fastened the pendant around her neck. Then, settling her friend back against the pillow, Sango dropped the red lotus into a vase on the bedside table before laying her forehead and palms against the wall and breaking into sobs. It took her only a moment to regain control of herself, and then she strode over to the other side of the room, where she settled for staring sullenly out of the open window.

As the day progressed, Tatsumi's condition worsened. Her pulse continued to drop, and her breathing became labored and raspy. Tsunade, Jakku, and Sakura remained with her and her friends, not daring to leave her unattended for an instant. Finally, the moment they had all been dreading arrived. Tatsumi flinched, her heart rate falling rapidly as she shuddered and gasped for breath. Jakku and Tsunade rushed to her, but a second too late. The line on the monitor flattened out; a long, shrill ring filled the air.

Sango's heart plummeted; all emotion drained away and vanished as she felt a part of her soul tear away from her body. She was completely numb; a single tear dripped slowly down her cheek.

"No! Not yet! You are _not_ going to die on me now, Tatsumi!"

"Jakku, she's gone," Tsunade said gently.

"No! You all may have given up, but I won't!" He surrounded his hands in light green chakra and placed them over Tatsumi's heart, shocking it. After a minute of repeated shocks, her heart jolted back to life, beating slowly but steadily. Laying his hands over the wound in her side, Jakku began attempting to stitch it closed.

"Jakku, we've tried that already," said Sakura. "The chakra threads never held, remember?"

"Just let me try again. What do I have to lose if - oops!" Jakku had gotten so distracted by Sakura that his hand had slipped a little, forcing his chakra into the wound in one burst instead of like a thread. This forced a black, smoky substance into the palm of his hand, as well as lessening the depth of the wound by fractions of a millimeter.

"What is that? Blood?" asked Ruku.

"No," Jakku said incredulously. "From the look of it, it's Sasuke's chakra. The wound must have had some of the Black Chidori's energy trapped inside. If it had leaked into her chakra network, that would explain why it was disrupting the chakra flow of her whole body."

"So if we flush out Sasuke's chakra," said Tsunade, "she should wake up and return to normal. So, I'll just-"

"_I'll_ do it. Please back me up, Lady Tsunade." She seemed a bit shocked by the way Jakku addressed her, but the look in his eyes told her she could trust his judgment. For the moment, she decided to just let him work. Placing his hands back over the wound, Jakku began running his chakra through her body. "Get ready, everyone," he instructed. "This'll be a long day."

* * *

The procedure dragged on for what seemed like an eternity. Little by little, Jakku used his chakra to flush out the Chidori while Sakura collected the poisonous energy in a sealing scroll. Three hours in, Jakku's hands began to tremble violently; sweat drenched his hair and dripped from his face.

"You look like you're almost out of chakra," said Tsunade.

"I am," he said exhaustedly. "You three, come help me." Sango, Disura, and Ruku joined him and placed their hands over his, lending him their reserves of chakra. By the time four hours had passed, the deadly poison had all been removed and safely sealed away.

"I'll take over from here," said Tsunade. "Chakra Sutures!" Her hand glowed neon green, and she pulled both sides of the gash together with nothing but a tap, binding them with threads of chakra. Satisfied with her work, she released the jutsu, waiting anxiously. Within minutes, Tatsumi's eyes opened and she jolted up in her bed, looking around in confusion.

"Sasuke!" she yelled, then stopped short as she realized where she was. "Jakku? Sakura? Lady Tsunade?" she murmured dazedly.

"Welcome back," Tsunade said cheerfully. "How do you feel?"

"Fine, why do you- ow!" She tried to turn toward them and winced as the cut in her side stretched painfully.

"Careful," said Jakku, pushing her back onto her pillow. "We put a lot of work into sealing that wound, but it won't completely heal for another week or so. Make sure to take it-"

"Tatsumi?" a quiet voice whispered from the doorway. Everyone turned toward the sound. Kiba Inuzuka was standing just inside the door; his face was gaunt and he obviously hadn't slept in days. Usually, he visited very early in the morning or very late at night so that he could be alone with Tatsumi. They hadn't even noticed that the surgery had dragged on until almost ten p.m. Kiba walked over to the bed and stared at her in disbelief. "Tatsumi..." he choked out, touching her face so softly that it was as if he were afraid she was an illusion. "Y-you're awake..." Tears filled his eyes, and his voice broke.

"Yeah, I'm back," she whispered softly, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Thank goodness!" he sobbed, pulling her close and hugging her as tightly as he could without causing her pain. "I thought I was gonna lose you. Don't you ever scare me like that again, Tatsumi!" He gave her a passionate kiss, which she returned with equal enthusiasm. He was indescribably happy that she had pulled through.

"Don't worry," said Tatsumi, staring out at the starry sky. "I'm not going anywhere; not now, not ever. And Jakku, Tsunade, Sakura, you all saved my life. I can't thank you enough."

"Anytime," said Tsunade. "But it's getting late. I'm sorry, but you all have to leave. Tatsumi needs her rest. Jakku," she warned as he started to protest, "you've done enough. You need rest, too."

"Yeah, you look like hell. Get some sleep," Tatsumi teased, already acting like her old self. Jakku grinned, biting back a snide comment about just how _she_ looked, and then reluctantly rejoined the group as they all filed out. Tatsumi stretched, then paused as she felt something hard bump against her breastbone. Reaching down, she held up Sango's pendant to the moonlight, admiring how it shone. She would have to remember to give it back later, but for now all she could think of was how happy she was to have friends who were so caring and dedicated. She yawned, and by the time Kiba had decided to sneak back up the hall to check on her one last time, she was already asleep - peacefully at last.


	14. Preparation

With Sasuke's chakra removed from her body, Tatsumi made a speedy recovery. Under the constant care of Tsunade and Sakura, her wound healed quickly, although it did leave a rather large scar. After another week in the hospital, Tatsumi was released; she was even given permission to resume her regular training, which she immediately proceeded to do.

The next few weeks flew by in a flash. Konoha remained largely the same as it had always been. Now, however, a constant stream of dignitaries and shinobi from various villages came by to see Tsunade, or to deliver armor, weapons, and medicines. Team Guy's training intensified, if that was even possible. Soon everyone could sense the veil of peace lifting as the threat of Kumogakure's strike seemed to grow more and more imminent.

The next day, only two months after the successful infiltration of Kumogakure, everyone's suspicions were confirmed. The Chunin in charge of border patrol made the formal announcement.

"Attention!" they shouted from atop the gates of Konoha. "Lady Hokage has issued a summons. All ninja of Chunin rank or higher are to report to the Council Building at once! Summons for anyone below Chunin rank have already been personally delivered. Now, get moving!"

"Is it really happening?" Sango asked as she followed her team.

"I guess they only told the Jônin," said Neji. "Troops from Kumogakure have passed through the Land of Wind and are headed straight for Konoha. Their attack on Sunagakure failed since they hadn't met up with their allies yet, so they decided to just focus all of their forces on Konoha. That's fortunate for Sunagakure, but it'll make it a lot harder for us in the long run. Lady Tsunade is summoning all of us so she can place us in our battle regiments." Sango squeezed Lee's hand, wishing the fighting could be avoided; even if she was a very skilled assassin, she tried never to take a life unless she had no other choice. But if worst came to worst, she knew without a doubt that she would protect her home and her friends at all costs, even her own life.

* * *

"Okay," Tsunade began as the last few shinobi filed into the enormous lobby of the Council Building. "The reason I called all of you here is to inform you that the troops of Kumogakure and its allies have just entered the Land of Fire and are headed this way as we speak. Through many negotiations, we have allied ourselves with the Lands of Wind, Earth, Snow, and Tea, and the Rain Village. Our enemies are the Lands of Lightning, Water, and Rice Paddies, and the Sound and Grass Villages."

"So, Lady Hokage," said Kakashi, "what is our strategy?"

"The enemy aims to take the Sakime Bridge, our only means of shipment and trade with the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning. Our objective is to meet them head-on and reclaim it before they can get close to Konoha; we can't afford to have them endangering innocent people. All shinobi who are Chunin or above will be deployed to the front lines, including those from our allies' shinobi villages. Lord Kazekage, Lord Tsuchikage, and I will be joining the battle, as well.

"Understood!" said every ninja in the room.

"Now," Tsunade said authoritatively. "After you have received your placements in the regiment, go and prepare all of your tools, weapons, and armor. Medics, you come with me. Everyone be quick, and double-check all of your supplies. We leave for the base camp tomorrow at dawn!"

* * *

Inside her apartment, Sango began rifling through her shelves and various boxes, filling her backpack with assorted tools, packages of food pills, envelopes full of paper bombs, and small metal weapons. Stepping into her closet, she opened up an old wooden trunk and laid the contents out on her bed, examining each for signs of damage.

"These will be useful," she mumbled, sliding her fingers across a few pieces of lightweight steel armor. Two pieces were made to cover her shins; the other was a thin, light-as-air steel padding designed to attach to the inside of a Chunin vest and function as a sort of breastplate. Sorting through the other items, she found poison smoke bombs, shuriken, kunai, a medic kit, small knives she could hide in her shin guards and spring out at will, and her sleeping bag.

Stuffing all of the items into her bag, she removed her leg weights and orange leg warmers, stowing them in the wooden trunk and snapping the knives into place inside her shin-guards. They fit between two of the layers of steel, so there was no danger of cutting her own legs. Finally, she tied her katana to her hip and donned her modified Chunin vest and leg armor before glancing out at the starry sky; it was so innocent and carefree, even when the people beneath it were not.

"This can't all be real, can it?" she whispered to herself.

Leaving her armor and sword on, she climbed into bed, prepared to leave at a moment's notice if need be. Slowly, she closed her eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep.


	15. The Camp

"All shinobi report to the main gate!" shouted several guards stationed throughout Konoha. "Repeat: all shinobi report to the main gate!"

"So it's begun," Sango thought as she leapt out of her window, landing nimbly on the street below. She was quickly joined by her teammates, and together they blended into the flood of shinobi making their way to the village entrance. The sky was still pitch-black and full of stars; the only light came from a few scattered lamps glowing dimly on the street corners.

"I cannot believe the enemy has progressed so quickly," said Lee. "This may very well escalate into a full-scale war if we are not careful."

"Alright, listen up!" Tsunade shouted. She was wearing light steel armor over her arms, legs, and chest like most of the other shinobi, making her look even more intimidating than usual. "I'm dividing you up into your travelling groups now. I have already selected a few Jônin to lead the groups, which will be reassembled into regiments once we reach the base camp. All of our allies are waiting for us just past the Sakime Bridge, so let's get to it!"

"Alright," said Guy. "I've got a list of my group's members. When I call your name, join me over here. Sango Hitarashi; Rock Lee; Tenten; Ruku Mizukiri; Neji Hyuuga; Disura Enoki; and Tatsumi Ren." The seven of them hurried over.

"What about Naruto, Sakura, and Jakku?" asked Tatsumi.

"Naruto's coming with me," said Kakashi as he passed by. "All the medics are travelling with Lady Tsunade or Shizune until we reach the bridge." With that, he departed to help the other Jônin divide up the remaining groups.

Soon, every shinobi was in place. Guy made up the eighth member of his group; Asuma led Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Iruka, and Yumi Guymon, a young kunoichi who was a friend of Shikamaru's. Kurenai led a smaller troupe consisting mainly of Jônin, as well as Shino and Kiba. Impressively, Jakku and Sakura had also been appointed to lead groups of twenty-five medics each alongside Shizune and Tsunade. Besides these smaller groups, hundreds of other Konoha shinobi were led by various Chunin and Jônin, including the parents of Sango's friends and their teammates.

"So," said Tsunade. "Now we're all set! You know the plan - keep up a quick pace and head for Sakime Bridge. Be there by noon tomorrow; that gives us time to secure our positions. Any questions? Right, then - move out!"

* * *

Guy's group moved at a steady pace, taking only a few short breaks throughout the day. Just after sunset, they decided to set up camp for the night. Sango's friends were the first to enter the campsite, grateful for a chance to rest; the members of Team Guy were used to constant movement, so they had fared a little better. Disura tiredly tossed her backpack onto the forest floor and nodded to Ruku, who smiled mischievously as he looked up at the many branches overhead.

"Ice Style: Ice Blade!" he cried, making a series of quick hand signs. A sharp blade of ice formed in his hand, and he shattered it with a burst of his chakra; the shards flew upwards and sliced the tree branches into usable firewood. "Tatsumi, would you do the honors?" he asked after he had gathered part of the wood into a small pile.

"Gladly. Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" She took a deep breath, and a ball of fire shot from between her lips as she exhaled. Soon the pile of wood was blazing. "Heh. That's one of my favorite jutsu." Sango sighed and flopped down onto her sleeping bag with a tired groan. Lee lay down next to her, and then leaned over and kissed her gently.

"Gross!" Ruku teased. "Get a room, you two!"

"I agree," said Tatsumi, covering her eyes.

"I... U-uh..." Lee stammered, pulling away from Sango and turning bright pink. Sango snapped up and shot a frighteningly venomous glare at Tatsumi and Ruku, clearly furious with their interruption. They flinched and lowered their eyes.

"Ah, young love," Guy sniffed, beginning to tear up.

"Can we just go to bed, please?" asked Neji, now red in the face himself and trying to change the subject.

"Oh, all right," Guy chuckled. Laying their sleeping bags on the ground, everyone crawled into them and quickly fell asleep.

Some slept well that night. Others... Not so much. Sango, Lee, and Guy stayed lost in their dreams, completely undisturbed. Everyone else slept lightly, finding it hard to stay asleep when confronted with the three green beasts' incredibly loud snoring.

"Mmmph," Neji mumbled in his sleep. As he slowly rolled over, his arm flopped limply to the side, and his palm settled over Sango's breasts. Sango, though still half-asleep, bolted up instantly.

"EEEAAAAAH!" she screamed, punching Neji in the jaw as hard as she could. As soon as her fist connected, she startled fully awake.

"Aggh! Ow! Dammit!" Neji yelled, jolting awake and clutching his already swelling jaw. "What was that for?! What did I do?!"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Neji!" Sango cried, panting as her heart pounded from the shock. "I didn't mean to, I was asleep!"

"It's... Alright..." He spat blood onto the ground and massaged his face.

"Waz... What is it?" Lee mumbled, still half-asleep. Everyone had woken up and was looking around dazedly.

"Sango, what did you do to Neji?!" cried Ruku and Disura.

"I... I don't really know."

"It's fine. Just go back to sleep," Neji said irritably. Yawning loudly, the others quickly collapsed back onto their sleeping bags and dozed off again. Soon, however, Tatsumi was once again awakened by Sango's snoring. Picking up a pebble, she threw it at Sango, hitting her in the forehead. In her sleep, the black-haired kunoichi threw a bigger one back at her friend, hitting her square in the nose. "Ow!" Tatsumi grunted, holding her hands over her nose. "Oh, well," she whispered. "At least it's quiet now." The second she said it, Guy and Lee began to snore again. "Ugh. I hate you all."

* * *

The group was packed and ready to depart before the sun began to peek over the horizon. Despite their lack of sleep, everyone was full of energy, on edge as they kept watch for enemies. They kept up a quick pace all day, traversing the vastly different terrains that bordered the Land of Fire.

By noon, the base camp was in sight. Thousands of shinobi from other lands were already waiting for them; several hundred tents, each capable of holding four to five people, were set up for Konoha's troops alone. Suddenly, Sango spotted a familiar face in the crowd of Sunagakure shinobi.

"Kikyo!" she called out.

"Sango! Long time, no see! I was wondering when Konoha's shinobi would get here. By the way," she said, gesturing toward a gold-and-brown-haired girl beside her. "This is my best friend, Yumi Guymon."

"I remember you, Yumi. But it's been forever. Lee and I met you and Shikamaru at the Cherry-Blossom Viewing Festival ten years ago. Remember, Lee?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. She was the one who almost made the mistake of ordering that Devil's Curry we love so much."

"Oh, yeah!" said Kikyo. "How could I have forgotten your face before you came to Suna? Sorry, Sango, I can be so weird sometimes."

"No, that's Yumi," teased Shikamaru, gently yanking Yumi's pigtails from behind as she giggled and squeaked.

"The only reason Yumi went back to Konoha," Kikyo teased, "is because there was no Shikamaaaaru in Suna."

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Yumi yelled, blushing bright red.

"Well, anyway," Kikyo said with a chuckle. "I'll see you all later. I have to help Gaara make some last-minute adjustments to our plans. Bye, everyone!"

Fifteen minutes later, every shinobi in the area had gathered on the edge of the camp. "Alright!" Tsunade shouted over the immense crowd. "Listen up, and listen now! The enemy is only a few miles from this camp. They'll be here any minute. We need to get in formation now! They've got eighty-thousand troops to our fifty-thousand, so watch yourselves out there – we need all of you alive!"

"So," Gaara continued, his voice more powerful and authoritative than most of those who knew him had ever heard. "Taijutsu users, you'll be the first wave; you all will run ahead and take out as many of the enemy as you can so that the others can initiate harder jutsu. Any ninja capable of flight –" Disura and Tatsumi snapped to attention. "– are to take to the skies and attack from above. Anyone who knows summoning is advised to stay back until you can reach your animal. Since Sunagakure shinobi mainly use wind and puppet jutsu, most of us will attack from the air."

"And be warned," added Kikyo, more intense than Sango had imagined her being capable of. "Don't underestimate the enemy. We may have strong jutsu, but we're outnumbered almost two-to-one. What the –?!"

Everyone followed her wide-eyed gaze; a great black shadow – an enormous force of troops – loomed on the distant horizon. The Battle for Sakime Bridge had begun.


	16. Disadvantage

"Let's go!" Tsunade and Gaara shouted to their respective armies. "Assume your manji formations now! Go, go, go!"

"Ready, Sango?" asked Guy as he strode up to her with Lee at his side.

"Yeah," she said, concentrating. "Gate of Rest, Open!" Lee and Guy released their chakra gates as well, and they all ran forward beside the Inuzuka and Hyuuga Clans, Kakashi's dogs, and several strangers. As they closed in on the enemy troops, Sango drew her sword, swinging it in a circle and taking out the shinobi surrounding her; a shark smirk pulled her lips tight. "All right. Here we go."

* * *

"Summoning Jutsu!" yelled Disura. "Hibara, the Eagle Spirit!" In an instant, an enormous bald eagle appeared in front of her; her wingspan alone was eighty feet across. Disura sprang onto the eagle's back and waited for the others to summon their beasts.

"Summoning Jutsu!" shouted Tatsumi. "Fuyukaji, the Dragon Spirit!" In a cloud of smoke, a gigantic white dragon materialized before her, baring his teeth fiercely. His bright blue eyes were flecked with red and gold; his serpentine tongue lashed around razor-sharp ivory fangs. Blue fire burned on the tip of his tail and on his enormous clawed feet. His wings glinted blue beneath their white frames, and sharp spikes protruded from the end of his massive tail.

"Fly, quickly!" shouted Temari, the Jônin in charge of the warriors of the sky. The shinobi, all now astride their animals, followed behind Temari as she rode atop her fan and ascended to five-hundred feet to await her orders.

* * *

"Haiyah!" Sango yelled, punching a man in the nose as he snuck up behind her. He glared at her as blood ran down his face.

"I'll show you, you little bitch!" he snarled as he drew his sword.

"Not gonna happen!" Sango quickly blocked the blade with the armor on her legs, then released the hidden knives with a simple muscle movement. Before he could react, the man lay dead on the ground; a circle of red spread across his chest, just over his heart. "Hmph," Sango snorted, cleaning his blood from the knives. "Mess with Konoha, will you?"

"Sango, behind you!" Tenten cried; she and the rest of Team Guy were completely surrounded and had no way to help their friend. Sango whirled around and bent backward, her head nearly touching the ground as a flurry of lightning bolts shot just a few inches over her body.

"Not bad," she thought. "I can't take them all on, but I'll sure do my best!" Thinking fast, she charged into the fray, dodging around swords and lightning jutsu as she took the enemy down one by one. "Damn!" she muttered after she had already beaten twenty of them. "Where do they all keep coming from?!"

"Haven't you figured it out?" an enemy woman asked with a sneer. "Our shinobi are better fighters and greater in number. You have no chan –"

"Rasengan!" yelled Naruto. The ball of swirling blue energy hit the woman square in the chest, expanding and taking down another twenty of her comrades as well.

"Thanks, Naruto!"

"No problem. Man, this is getting interesting!"

* * *

"Aw, crap," Ruku muttered as he was backed into a corner by a group of Sound shinobi. "How do I always get myself into these things?"

"Time to die," said one of the enemies, holding a kunai to Ruku's throat.

"In your dreams! Hidden Mist Jutsu!" A cloud of heavy white mist surrounded them, blocking out all visibility.

"Too late!" snarled a masked man. He grabbed a kunai and thrust it into Ruku's chest. "Wh-what?!" he cried out as the Konoha shinobi dissolved into a puddle of water. "A water clone?!"

"Looking for me?" Ruku appeared behind him and stabbed a kunai between his shoulder blades, dropping him to the ground instantly.

"But how?!" the man shrieked, paralyzed by the cut to his spinal cord. "How can you know Hidden Mist Jutsu when you're from the Land of Fire?"

"Because we're just that awesome in Konoha!" he retorted as he made hand signs; a blade of ice instantly appeared in his hand. "And you're in for a long day."

* * *

"Hyaah! Forty-one, forty-two…" Guy counted proudly, punching out a Mist shinobi as he fought back-to-back with Kakashi. "How many've you got?"

"Forty-seven," said Kakashi, calmly killing another. Guy's smile faded.

"Always a step ahead, huh? Ah, well."

"Guy, look ou–"

Before the Green Beast could even turn, the man attacking him gasped and fell to the ground, his knees buckling from pain.

"Got 'im!" said Jakku, his hands glowing with green chakra. "I severed the tendons connecting his arms to his shoulders; he won't be casting any more jutsu."

"Thanks, Jakku," said Guy.

"Any time. Now," he said, rolling up his sleeves. "Let's get serious!"

* * *

"Our allies need help!" Temari called to her troops. "Archers, to the ready!" The shinobi aimed shuriken at their enemies on the ground. "Steady… Hold for my signal…"

"I don't have time for this!" Sango growled as more enemies closed in on her and Naruto. "Konoha Willow Dance!" Focusing her chakra to her katana, she leaped and twisted in a series of complicated moves, slashing with her sword.

"Not quick enough!" yelled a white-haired woman; her fists crackled with electricity and her eyes practically glowed with it. "I'll kill you here, you little pests!" Sango dodged, but not far enough. The woman threw a punch at her, aiming to pierce her chest; Sango braced herself. "Wha –" the woman suddenly gasped, halting and falling to the ground with her fist an inch away from Sango. A long piece of silver protruded from her back. She was dead before she hit the ground.

"Thanks, Disura!" Sango shouted up to her friend. "I owe you one!"

"No problem!" Disura shouted back, reeling her flute back to her with a string of chakra.

"Now!" Temari ordered. A storm of shuriken and kunai rained down on the enemy army, each precisely hitting its target. "Again!" This time, the kunai were covered with paper bombs which exploded on contact with the ground or a human body. "Gaara! Kikyo!"

"Right," said Gaara. "Fall back, everyone! Fall back!" His troops retreated a safe distance behind him.

"Kill them before they escape!" screamed the Raikage. "Attack!"

"Die, you Konoha vermin!" his shinobi shouted as they charged.

"Have it your way," Gaara said quietly. "Abyss of Sand!" He slammed his palms into the ground; in an instant, a gigantic chasm opened up in the earth and swallowed up a thousand shinobi before they could react. "Sand Burial!"

"NOOOOO!" they screamed as the sand covered them, quickly contracting and silencing them for good.

"My turn!" said Kikyo. "Tomodachi!" The ground rumbled, and a giant purple-black scorpion emerged beneath her so she could stand on its back.

"You called?" clicked the scorpion, a female standing over one-hundred feet tall.

"Let's go!" Kikyo and Yumi pulled flowers from their hair and threw them toward the enemy, letting the wind carry the petals away and spread them out.

"Hahahaha! A flower?!" the Raikage shouted from below. "Is that harmless thing the best you've got?"

"Harmless? Okay, then… Flowers from Hell!" Kikyo shouted, forming the hand sign. Each petal suddenly exploded with the force of twenty paper bombs, spreading a curtain of flame through the air above the enemy army.

"Heh," said Yumi. "Not so harmless now, is it?"

"Gaara," Tsunade said in amazement when she caught up to him. "That technique was amazing! How did you turn the entire field into a chasm?!"

"With my sand, I can do almost anything. Once I hollowed out the earth belowground, all I had to do was put a crack in the surface."

"There's definitely a reason you're the Kazekage," the blonde said in awe. "Now," she ordered, addressing her troops once more. "Resume your positions!"

* * *

As the hours passed, the armies thinned. Konoha and its allies lost many shinobi, but Kumogakure's army suffered the loss of ten thousand of theirs. Konoha seemed unstoppable, but the tables soon turned.

"That's enough!" yelled the Mizukage. "We can't afford to lose any more troops! Our reinforcements have arrived; now, the gloves are off!"

In the distance, a shadowy mass of Sound shinobi began to move forward. They were still at full strength, not having used any stamina, while the Leaf Village's troops were greatly diminished in number and wearing down with fatigue. The battle had taken a turn for the worse.


	17. Ferocity

"This is bad," said Sango, now standing back-to-back with her teammates. "Can we take them all on?"

"We have to try!" said Guy.

"Sango," Lee whispered. "Now is the time to summon _him_."

"Right. Summoning Jutsu: Wolf Guardian!" In an instant, she stood on the back of a one-hundred foot tall wolf. He was grey-white with eight thrashing tails and the yellow eyes of a natural-born killer. Immense clouds of blue chakra enveloped his powerful body. Spotting the advancing enemy, the wolf growled furiously, baring his teeth as his tails lashed out behind him.

"Wow, Sango!" called Disura. "You know Summoning Jutsu?"

"Yup! Everyone, meet Ganenmaru."

"So, then," Tatsumi began. "Do you know the –"

"Art of Beast Mimicry!" Sango popped a food pill into her mouth, and her features began to change almost instantaneously. Her finger- and toenails sharpened and lengthened into claws, her already sharp canines extending into deadly fangs. Tatsumi and Fuyukaji descended and joined her on the ground. She knew Beast Mimicry as well, and she had perfected it enough to include not only claws and a lengthening of _all _of her teeth, but also a perfect pair of dragon wings.

"Now, Disura!" Kakashi shouted from the ground.

"Okay!" She silently began forming hand signs around her flute; then, holding it to her lips, she played several high, short notes in rapid succession. "Art of Impenetrable Darkness!"

Before she could blink, Sango was swallowed up by an inky blackness, unable to see even her hand an inch away from her face. Judging by the shrieks of panic and confusion all around her, the enemy had been caught as well. While Sango knew how to release the genjutsu, her heightened senses of hearing and smell diminished the need for sight, saving her precious time.

"Come on, Kiba!" Tatsumi yelled. "Ready, Fuyukaji?"

"Of course," he growled. "I need a warm-up." Tatsumi sprang onto his back, Sango and Kiba following suit with Ganenmaru and Akamaru.

"Fang Over Fang!" they cried, barreling through the ranks of enemy shinobi and knocking them down like stalks of wheat. Sango and Ganenmaru moved effortlessly, every move perfectly synchronized as they became one.

"Release!" said Disura, and the genjutsu faded, revealing the enormous enemy army once again. With a sinking feeling, Sango saw two men leaping straight at her, lightning-charged blades drawn, and realized she was two far from Ganenmaru for him to help her.

"Die!" they screamed.

"Not today!" yelled two familiar voices. The two men shrieked in agony; one fell to the ground as green chakra severed the tendons in his legs, the other gasping for breath and trying in vain to remove the blade of ice piercing his chest.

"Nice save!" Sango beamed at Ruku and Jakku. "Not a moment too soon." They grinned back at her.

"Let's get the hell outta here!" said Ruku. Sango nodded, and they dispersed back into their ranks. Jakku leapt onto the back of a fierce white tiger named Kirimatsume, who Sango had seen only once before.

"That's IT!" shouted the Mizukage. "I've had enough of you miserable wretches! Water Vortex Jutsu!" A giant wave of water rose up from the earth and rushed at Konoha's shinobi; many were unable to move to safety fast enough and were swept away to drown. "Now, Sound!"

"Sound Senbon Jutsu!" cried the Sound shinobi. Their attack was impossible to dodge, due to the fact that sound waves were invisible.

"Sound Barrier Jutsu!" Disura shouted back. An invisible field of energy surrounded the entire army, the sound senbon bouncing harmlessly off of it and rebounding back at their casters.

"Feh," Tenten huffed, pulling two scrolls out of her pockets. "Rising Twin Dragons!" She rose into the air, throwing showers of steel weapons at the enemies.

"Not good enough!" A blue-haired woman from the Mist Village appeared behind her, too suddenly to stop. "Ice Blade Jutsu!" A sword of ice identical to Ruku's materialized in her hand, and she slashed it across Tenten's chest, easily knocking away the weapons forming a shield around her. The young kunoichi gasped and fell to the ground between the now torn scrolls, choking and gasping with her teeth clenched in agony as she lay prone in a deepening pool of her own blood.

"Tenten!" Lee cried. He and the rest of Team Guy rushed to her aid, unsure of what to do. Sango had never seen Neji look so furious, so ready to kill. Jakku quickly rushed over and began trying to seal the wound, but his efforts did little or nothing to staunch the flow of blood.

"It's no good," he growled in frustration. "This wound is too deep, and it cut a vital artery. Shizune! Sakura!" The two of them reached Tenten and immediately set to work helping Jakku stabilize her. After a short time, they both looked up at Guy.

"We patched the artery, but this wound is deep," said Shizune. "She's lost so much blood, and she's still losing more. Plus, I'm worried about the condition of her left lung…"

Tenten coughed weakly, more blood staining the ground beneath her a sickening shade of crimson.

"Nnnngh!" Neji snarled, punching the ground hard enough to split his knuckles. "How could I let this happen?" Tears fell like rain down his cheeks, and he leaned over Tenten, pulling her limp body close to his in a quick embrace. When he released her, his clothes were soaked with her blood. "Don't worry, Tenten," he growled murderously. "You will be avenged. I swear it!"

"C'mon!" Guy shouted through tears of his own. "Let's get those bastards! We'll leave Tenten in the medics' hands for now. These guys are gonna regret the day they crossed Team Guy!"


	18. Angels Don't Cry

"Byakugan!"

Neji spotted the woman who had tried to kill Tenten, and his face contorted in anger. "Haa-ahh!" He slammed his palm against her heart and she gagged and choked, blood spurting from between her lips; she was dead before she even hit the ground. "Rotation!" he cried, protecting his team as a flurry of shuriken and kunai sailed toward them.

"Now, Sango, Lee!" yelled Guy, already poised to begin his ultimate move.

"Fifth Gate!" the three of them shouted. "Gate of Life, open!"

Sango felt her chakra flow increase one-hundred-fold. With a loud crack, the ground beneath her buckled under the force of the immense energy. Her pupils and irises shrank until only the bone-white sclera of her eyes were visible, and her skin took on a rust-red hue as capillaries burst left and right beneath the surface. With a snap, her hair broke free of its ties, standing straight up, and all of her veins swelled dramatically until they could be seen protruding from beneath her skin.

"Ganenmaru!" she ordered. "Attack!"

Ganenmaru's eight tails stiffened and he snarled and growled, foaming at the corners of his mouth as every hair on his body bristled stiffly. With blinding speed, he charged into the fray, using his teeth and claws to rip the enemy apart like nothing more than rice paper. Disura aided the wolf with her Sound Senbon Jutsu, holding tight to Hibara as the massive bird swooped down and tore them apart with her talons.

Fuyukaji and Tatsumi attacked as one, their combined fire assault burning a hot blue and white. Ruku protected his allies with a deadly combination of Ice Senbon and Ice Blade-wielding Water Clones. Jakku jumped between healing the injured and using his medical ninjutsu to fight alongside Kirimatsume.

"Now, Sango!" Guy called again.

"Yes, sir!"

With blinding speed, the three taijutsu masters dashed through the enemy lines; their speed was so great that they were completely impossible for the naked eye to track. Leaping high into the air, they quickly trapped the shinobi in the bandages on their arms. Once their targets were ensnared, they pummeled them in midair. Guy, Lee, and Sango aimed each punch and kick with perfect precision; their moves frequently crossed over one another, avoiding damage to their own teammates by mere millimeters.

"And for the finishing touch," Lee said with a grin as he gripped his current opponent tighter. "Hidden Lotus!" The green beasts slammed their victims head-first into the ground, snapping their necks, before quickly moving on to the next targets.

"She must be using Hidden Lotus," Tatsumi said to Disura when the two of them lost track of Sango in the fray.

"Heh," Disura snorted. "Those shinobi have no chance against Team Guy. Sango's gonna slaughter them."

"No kidding. Let's see if we can catch a glimpse before it's all over."

"Hyaah!" Sango yelled, slamming yet another ninja into the rocks and dirt. She gasped in pain, clutching her left arm as another one of the tendons strained close to breaking. Even after all these years, she couldn't prevent the huge stress this jutsu put on her body – only delay it. "Ah, ow!" she grunted as every muscle in her legs strained painfully. "I'll have to stop soon. My body can't take much more of this." On either side of her, Guy and Lee seemed to be in just as much pain. "Just one more, that's all I can do…"

Suddenly, Sango gasped. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a man with a sword springing toward Lee, poised to strike. In that instant, time seemed to stand still. Against the protesting of every muscle in her body, Sango kicked off one final time, flying toward Lee with her arms outstretched and praying that she would make it in time. An instant before the blade would have killed Lee, her hands connected with his arm, and she pushed him away with every ounce of strength she had left. He slammed into the ground, dazed but out of harm's way; unfortunately, Sango was not so lucky.

"AAAAAGGH!" she screamed as the man's katana stuck deep into the bone of her left shoulder blade. With a sickening squelching sound, the man pulled the blade down her back and across to her right hip, its path never wavering except when it hit her spine and bounced slightly against the bone. Sango wailed in agony as he jerked out the blade and slashed it across the back of her right leg, revealing layers of muscle and possibly bone. Beginning to lose consciousness from the pain and loss of blood, she fell to the ground, writhing weakly; every breath was almost more than she could bear to take.

"SANGO!" Lee cried. He sprinted over to her and knelt by her side, grasping her hand as Jakku and Sakura arrived with Shizune and Tsunade in tow.

"Stop!" Tsunade suddenly cried, and all four medics pulled up short. Before them stood Ganenmaru, snarling and roaring as every hair on his body stood straight up in fury.

"You will not touch my master!" he growled. "I will stop you here and now, even if it costs me my life!"

"Ganen… maru…" Sango whispered, almost inaudibly. She coughed, and a mouthful of blood splattered onto the ground beside her, mixing with the widening pool spreading beneath her as it poured from her back. "They're… friends…"

The wolf quickly relaxed and let them get to work then; Sango could barely feel their hands touching her when they gently rolled her over onto her stomach and began attempting to heal her. Looking at Lee's tear-stained face through clouded eyes, Sango sighed and smiled at him.

"Angels… don't cry… remember?" she whispered, so quietly that only he could hear. She winced then, her eyes closing as another wave of pain pulsed through her entire body, and finally let the darkness envelop her.


End file.
